Origins: Mystique
by How Like a Winter
Summary: My take on how the golden-eyed outcast came to be Magneto's right hand. Discontinued.
1. Expelled

**AN**: You probably already know this, but Mystique's real name was Raven, and that's how I'm going to be referring to her for at least the first eight chapters; that's what I have written so far. And just to clear up any confusion, I'm aware that Mystique is really one of the oldest mutants in existence, she was in love with Sabretooth, Destiny, etc. Well not here, she isn't, because this isn't a reiteration of her already-existing Origins story; this is my own take on it. Also, I've portrayed her as realistically as I think I can considering she's only fourteen at the start of this, so please don't hate me if she's not totally badass yet. She'll get there in time!

Those who actually read all of this and review will be given as many cookies as they will take. And I'll even review you back. Good deal, eh? Why yes, I am known for my generous nature.

**Chapter I**

"Raven Darkholme."

Hearing her name, she turned around to see that it was Troy Emerson, quarterback of the football team, who had spoken. "Yeah?" She said it as casually as possible, but she couldn't help the slight tremor in her voice, though she hated herself for it. It was just the sneaking suspicion that whatever had made him say her name couldn't be a good thing, and her fears were soon proven correct.

"Raven freakin' _Darkholme_. What kind of parents give their kids a name like that, anyway?"

She turned back to her lunch while listening to the other kids at his table snicker. It wasn't like Troy's comments were ever particularly funny, but laughing at his stupid comments seemed to be far less dangerous than not laughing.

"Come on, Raven, answer the question," said Brianna, Troy's older sister. She was a senior, captain of the cheerleading squad, and possibly the most gorgeous high school girl in existence, or at least one would think so by the way the guys worshipped her. It was said that several fashion magazines were actually trying to make a contract with her, although Raven liked to not believe that particular rumor. "And how _do_ you get your hair that dark? I might want to know if it's ever in style."

"That's not somethin' you gotta worry about," Troy replied.

Raven had long stopped responding to them, but she still heard every word. It seemed like no one else in the cafeteria was talking except the people who tormented her day after day, even though in reality everyone else was so loud that they could hardly hear what was going on, and they cared even less. But it still felt like everyone was watching her be laughed at. It seemed like a problem that would get better in class, when talking wasn't allowed and the teacher would be there to observe it if anything went on, but there was always the dreaded group project. That usually went something along the lines of everyone partnering up and leaving Raven placed in some three-person group by the teacher. And whenever the teacher did let the students socialize, Raven could only sit in silence, doing work quietly and praying that no one would notice her.

"Hey Raven, you know Prom's coming up, right?" asked Brianna, in that sweet voice that Raven knew enough to dread. When Raven didn't turn around, Brianna continued, "I know this one guy who you'd just love. He never talks, he wears black all the time, and he's got no more friends than you do. Wanna give him a try?"

Lauren Parker frowned and said, "Isn't Frank gay?"

"Duh, that's why he'd find Raven so attractive."

Raven was thankful for the long black hair covered her face, red with embarrassment, as the others burst out laughing. Anyone could tell just by looking at her that she would never have guys chasing after her like Brianna, but she couldn't help her age. Skipping third grade had caused her to be younger than everyone else, and that combined with the fact that her body seemed to be developing slower than most people anyway, she looked more suited to junior high than ninth grade. The most feminine part about her was her hair, which the others still mocked because of its color combined with her stupid name.

Essentially, this day was like every other day, listening to the others laugh at her expense. But then Troy did something that nobody had planned for, starting with the simple words, "Hey, look at us when we're talkin' to you."

If anything, Raven hunched over the table even more, but Troy wasn't satisfied. "Come on, Raven. I wanna see those yellow eyes."

When she didn't move, he stood up and started to walk over to her. "What's he doing?" Lauren whispered, but Brianna could only shrug.

Troy grabbed Raven by the arm and forced her to face him. She squeezed her eyes shut, determined not to give him the pleasure of laughing at her freakish eyes, mostly green but slightly tinted with yellow. "Come on, Raven, lemme see." As she tried to yank her arm away, he took his other hand and brought it up to her face, where he tried to force her eyelids open.

The other students were beginning to take notice of Raven and she shouted, "Get your hands off me!" She struggled hard enough to free her arm from his grasp, and pushed him away, but he wouldn't budge. Finally Raven slashed her long fingernails across his smug, handsome face, leaving four fresh wounds.

With a sharp gasp of pain, Troy stumbled backwards and covered the side of his face with a hand. Horrified, Raven could only stare, but suddenly she doubled over and grabbed her stomach in pain. Lauren had punched Raven in the stomach. As Raven moaned in pain, the others began to cheer Lauren on, congratulating her for being brave enough to defend Troy against the freak. The infuriated Raven finally snapped and punched Lauren in the face with all the strength she could muster.

Lauren crumpled to the ground without making a noise, and Brianna ran to her friend's side and wrapped her arms around Lauren protectively. "Are you trying to kill them?" demanded Brianna, breaking the shocked silence.

Some of the other kids had run to the teacher's lounge, and when the teachers entered, the cafeteria hushed immediately. One of the teachers who had rushed to Troy's side pulled the boy's hand away from his face to see that it was covered in blood.

"Troy's bleeding! Call 911!" screamed Brianna, and that sent the cafeteria into chaos. Obediently, kids pulled cell phones out of their purses and frantically started dialing while the teachers insisted that the two were going to be okay.

Until this point, Raven had just been standing there nervously, unsure of what to do. But while everyone else was running around and finding more teachers and calling the police, she took the opportunity to slip away into a nearby bathroom. Breathing heavily, she entered a stall, locked the door, and sat on the toilet with her eyes closed and her head in her hands. _They don't need to call the police! They'll be fine! I didn't hit them that hard! _She opened her eyes and picked up her head when she realized her hands were shaking.

They were also…slightly blue.

Shocked, she frantically rubbed at one hand with the other. _Am I sick? Maybe I got some kind of disease from Troy's hands_. She smiled briefly, but then refocused on her skin. _I can't look any more like a freak than I already do! Come on, just be normal. _A second after she thought the words, her skin turned back to normal, although her right hand was red from all the rubbing. She sighed in relief, but her breath caught when the bathroom door slammed open.

"Raven Darkholme?"

Her eyes darted towards the door. Surely whoever was there would check the stalls, so she could either come out or be discovered…and if this was the police, the latter would make her look far more guilty than she wanted to. Breathing in deeply to calm herself, she unlocked the stall door and emerged, facing the principal, Mrs. Yale. Raven couldn't think of anything to say, so she waited until the principal spoke.

"Raven, we're going to have to ask you to go home." Mrs. Yale's eyes searched Raven's face, but Raven couldn't figure out what the older woman was looking for.

"Are they hurt?" As soon as the words left her mouth, Raven realized what a dumb question that was. She had seen Troy's injury, and if Lauren was injured too, asking the principal about it would only make things worse.

"Raven, please just…call your parents and ask them to bring you home. If they are working, we can make…other arrangements."

The expression on Mrs. Yale's face was one that Raven could quickly decipher—fear. The principal was _scared_ of her, and just the thought of that made Raven even more frightened. She felt like a spider around a human with a fear of bugs, where one was just as scared as the other.

"Okay," said Raven. "I'll call them. My phone's in my locker."

"Stay here," Mrs. Yale said quickly, holding up a hand. "I'll get it. What's your locker number?"

When Raven told her, along with the combination, the principal left. In the few seconds that the door was open, Raven glimpsed the sight of Lauren's body being carried away on a stretcher. _She's unconscious_.

_What are they gonna do to _me_?_

The principal returned shortly, and slightly out of breath. _She must have run. They really want me out of here_. Raven dialed the number of her mom's office. Her dad was at home, but Raven didn't want to deal with him for as long as possible.

"This is Alexis Darkholme speaking."

"Mom?"

There was a pause before her mother asked, "Are you sick? Is that why you called?"

_I'm probably expelled for knocking someone out and Mom's worried about my health._ "Mom, I—" Raven choked up for a moment, but regained her composure. "Can you pick me up? Mrs. Yale wants you to bring me home."

"Of course, honey. Just please tell me you're not sick. Not after last time." Last time, Raven had nearly died of a mysterious illness that the doctors still could not explain. That was about the same time that Raven's eyes had begun to take on their sickly yellow hue, which everyone assumed was a symptom of her health problems.

"I promise I'm not sick. How far away are you?"

"Just a few minutes. I'm on the interstate. Can you please tell me what's the matter?"

_Already? She must have started the driving second a minute after I called her_. _I wish I _was_ sick. _"I want to say it face to face." More importantly, she didn't want to say it in front of Mrs. Yale, who watched her like a hawk. And she was afraid that, in telling her mom what had happened, she wouldn't be able to hold back tears. She certainly wasn't going to let Mrs. Yale see _that_.

When they had said goodbye and hung up, Raven asked, "Do I wait in here?"

Mrs. Yale glared at Raven, who had obviously said the wrong thing. "Of course not. I will escort you outside. Don't attempt to make contact with the other students." As Mrs. Yale led Raven outside, the girl wondered what the principal had meant by that. _What am I going to do just by talking to someone? I wish she'd tell me what happened to Troy and Lauren. I'm so dead._

As she walked into the cafeteria, the eyes of the other kids followed her suspiciously. This time, there were parents, too, holding their kids tightly against their chests and glaring at Raven. She kept her eyes down so the parents couldn't see them. "Is that the freak?" asked Brianna's father. He was just as handsome as Brianna was beautiful, Raven noticed sadly.

"Yeah," said Brianna. "I don't know what's wrong with her. Troy's so sweet and she just attacked him like an animal…." Tears rolled down Brianna's face and Raven grunted in disgust. The principal tightened her grip on Raven's arm in a reminder to stay silent.

Raven had never felt so hated. Kids were one thing, but to have the fear of so many adults was quite another. They were the ones who could sue, the ones who could see to it that she never returned to any kind of school except a military boarding school.

Outside, Alexis Darkholme's car was waiting, and Raven hopped in as soon as she could. All that Mrs. Yale said to Alexis was, "The school superintendent will contact you in the next few days. Until then, Raven can explain what happened. Don't bother bringing her back here."

Raven's eyes widened and she quickly turned back to look at her school. _Sure, it sucks, but it's gotta be better than wherever they're gonna send me now._

When her mother drove away, she said, "Raven, honey, please tell me what's going on now. I'm so scared, Raven."

Raven stared at her hands. "You know how Troy and Lauren are always teasing me?"

"Yes, honey. Did they do something worse today?"

"Yeah. Troy was forcing my eyes open 'cause I wouldn't look at him. He grabbed my arms and held them so I couldn't get him to let go of me."

"Well, that's grounds for harassment! I won't have any high school boy grabbing _my_ daughter!"

"Yeah, but then I slapped him. And apparently it scratched him really hard 'cause he was bleeding. And then Lauren punched me in the stomach, so I hit her in the nose. And she fell unconscious. I think I broke it, too. I heard a crack. And they wouldn't tell me what happened. They called 911 and took her away on a stretcher."

Alexis sighed heavily, her shoulders heaving with sadness. "You're a Darkholme, that's for sure."

"What's that supposed to mean?" snapped Raven, before realizing that her mom _hadn't_ yelled at her. "I'm sorry. I don't know why I said that. I know exactly what you mean." They were talking about her father, of course. Raven liked to think of him as a good man behind the alcohol and the frightful temper, so it angered her when Alexis took jabs at him, but she understood her mother's reasons. "I'm really, really sorry."

"I don't think the lawyers are going to take 'sorry,' Raven. They're gonna take a few crying kids and one who's unconscious and make their decision without knowing the facts. If Lauren had knocked _you_ unconscious, you'd be off scot-free regardless of Troy's injury, because they love victims. Unfortunately, that's not what they'll see when they look at you."

"Mom, I'd do anything to take it back," Raven whispered, close to tears. Physically strong as she was, she was only a hormonal fourteen-year-old going to school with prettier, more popular kids. Troy was seventeen and Lauren, eighteen, yet _they_ were the victims, and they'd had more time than Raven to toughen up. "I shouldn't even be in school with those kids. I'm too young. I always feel like I can't do anything against them and when I finally do, it's the wrong thing."

Alexis' hands tightened on the steering wheel until her knuckles were white. "Don't talk like that. I put you in ninth grade because you're smarter than every one of those kids. There's a saying—do what you can, with what you have, where you are. That's exactly what you did. The older kids were just too weak to handle it."

Raven smiled briefly. "I guess."

"Whatever the school board throws at us, we can take it. I'm just thanking God that you're not sick."

_I'm lucky Mom understands. The only problem will be dealing with Dad. Even if she was angry, she could leave all that to him. _"What happens now that I can't go back to school?"

"One of the women I work with has a son like you. He's incredibly talented, plays every instrument I've ever heard of like a master. But he got into a little trouble at school too, so she sent him to a special school, made just for people like he and you. People so gifted that other people can't handle it."

As grateful as Raven was for the compliment, something nagged at her. "It's not a boarding school, is it?"

"Well, it's in New York. You'd have to live there."

Raven shook her head quickly. "No way! I want to live here. I'd miss you."

"You might not want to stay here much longer when we get home," Alexis said quietly. "I'm not sure I _want_ you to live with us if you have to live with…." She left the word _him_ unspoken. "You could have a better future."

"I don't care about my future. I'm too young to go to boarding school. What if I had problems there? You wouldn't be there to…." _To rescue me. Ugh, that sounds so babyish. Grow up! But still, I don't know anyone my age who could leave their home forever._

"Look, they have to interview you first before they accept you, so why don't we just see what happens? If they say yes, you can still think about it. But we have to apply now, because they stop taking applicants at the end of this week. Look, I'll give you the number too, and if you want to call the school and set up an interview, feel free to do so. It'll save me time." She picked up Raven's phone and programmed the number in.

Raven shrugged. "Even if they say yes, I'm not leaving home. I don't want to call them."

Alexis didn't reply.


	2. Yellow Eyes

**Chapter II**

When they arrived at the house, Richard Darkholme was mowing the lawn. But when he saw the car pulling in with Raven in the passenger's seat, he knew that something was up; the school day wasn't over yet and Raven normally rode the bus. He parked the lawnmower and followed them inside.

When he approached Raven, she wrinkled her nose, taking in the scent of the sweat and grass. "What're you doin' home?" he demanded.

She walked backwards slightly, smelling the alcohol in his breath. "You shouldn't mow the lawn while you're drunk. I'd hate for you to get hurt."

"What're you doin' here?" he repeated, moving in to close the gap Raven had created between them. "Are you in some kinda trouble?"

Moving to protect Raven, Alexis stepped in front of her. "You know how gifted our daughter is, Richard. That just happens to cause disagreements between her and the other students, most of whom are jealous."

Raven slipped away to her room, hoping her father wouldn't notice her absence. The hardest part of any misbehavior was surviving Richard, or at least having to listen to Alexis survive, whether he came after Raven or not. She heard their raised voices from the kitchen even once she had climbed the flight of stairs into her room and shut the door:

"She did _what_?"

"_After_ another boy grabbed her. And this boy's a junior, probably three years older than her. I don't know about you, but that's what I _want_ my daughter to do if another boy accosts her."

"You want us to get our asses sued, huh?"

"Sometimes you have to admit that not everything is Raven's fault; she can't help her eyes—"

Her voice was cut off as the sound of a loud crack reached Raven's ears. Laying on her bed, she covered her head with a pillow, hoping that it was just a slap and that he hadn't pushed Alexis into the wall.

_Coward. My own mother's getting beaten and I'm just letting this happen. But what am I supposed to do? She's taller than me and she could fight back better than I could. Although…she's probably never going to try._

"Sometimes I think you let her do whatever the fuck she wants. _One_ of us has to keep her in line!"

As Richard spoke, Raven's watery eyes focused on her closet doors. _I wonder if he's mad enough for it. God, I hope not. Mom better do something._

In a calm, quiet voice that provided a stark contrast to Richard's shouting, Alexis explained, "A woman I work with has a son like Raven. He is exceptionally gifted, but he doesn't fit into a traditional school setting. That happens sometimes with gifted—"

"Don't gimme that shit about gifts, Alexis. More like a freak of nature—"

"I won't have you calling my daughter a freak."

"Oh, so she's _your_ daughter now?"

"You sure as hell didn't help raise her!"

Another crack, and Alexis groaned. Raven couldn't hear the groan from her room, but she did hear the crack, and it was louder than before. Shivers ran up and down her spine, shaking her. "I shouldn't have to put up with this," Richard growled.

"Neither should I," Raven whispered under her breath. Desperate for a way out, her hand clutched her phone and she was tempted to call the boarding school, but how could she abandon her mother?

Alexis seemed to have been sufficiently hurt, because she didn't snap back this time. The silence frightened Raven almost more than the blows, and she wanted so badly to go back down and give Richard a piece of her mind, but she'd already gotten in one fight that day, a fight that she would always regret. He had to be tougher than any high school kid, towering over than everyone else at 6"5 and weighing over two hundred pounds. Troy was big, but he wasn't anywhere near Richard's size.

Then Raven's blood froze—she heard her father's shoes slamming ominously against the wooden boards that led up to her room. "Some kid 'hurt' you and there ain't a scratch on you, right? You ain't seen nothin'."

Alexis had already returned to her own room, holding her arm, which was at least sprained if not broken. Now that she had taken a beating, it was Raven's turn to deal with the consequences. That was how it usually went, with Alexis' temper not allowing her to stay quiet when confronted with Richard's, but after she had suffered at his hands, she didn't have any strength left to protect Raven.

He slammed his fist into the wall above Raven's head, and it cracked ever so slightly. She ducked and rolled off the side of her bed onto her floor to avoid the punch. She stood up and started to run out of the room, but he grabbed her arm and yanked her over to him so roughly that it almost felt like her arm was being pulled out of its socket. To keep herself from crying out, she bit her lip so hard that blood began to trail from it. But when he next swung at her head, she couldn't keep herself from yelling in pain. When she stumbled back into the wall, the pain seemed to explode in her head. For a moment she thought she was going to black out, but she focused on her hatred for Richard to keep her awake.

_If I fall unconscious, I'll wake up in the closet. Hell if I'm gonna let him do that again. I'll fucking kill him before I let him do that again._

"You want to stay in there a few days?" he growled as if reading her mind, signaling with his head towards the door. "I'll arrange that."

A hundred memories of days spent staring into the darkness, begging to be let out, resurfaced in Raven's mind. Her blood boiled as she forced herself to stand steady. And for one brief second, the thought passed through her mind that if only she were Troy, she might be tough enough to defend herself.

One second was all it took.

"What the _fuck_—"

While her father was reeling in shock, his fist suspended in midair like the world had been turned on pause, Raven took the opportunity to punch him in the side of the head. Somehow, it was strong enough to knock him unconscious.

When he fell, she hardly noticed. She was too busy staring at her hand, which had grown to at least the size of her father's. Her arms were big, too, and muscular. "How—" She cut off as her father had when she realized that her voice was deeper than it had been.

Thoughts and questions spinning in her head, she ran to shut the door and shoved her dresser in front of it. Normally that would have taken a few minutes, but with her newfound strength, it was easy to move. Then she looked at her reflection in the mirror and gasped.

Troy was staring back at her with the same stunned expression on his face.

She sat on her bed and stared at her hands, breathing hard, as if she had been running. _How? How did I do that? What happened? _As if to test her new shape, she pulled off her shirt and saw that her chest was completely flat, if muscular. "No!" she hissed. "I don't want to be a guy! Especially Troy! I want to be Raven again!"

And just like that, she _changed_. Her hair grew out, her body shrunk, the unfamiliar muscles disappeared.

_What's happening to me? Whatever it is, I can't tell Mom, she'd freak out. But what if this happens in front of other people?_

It took awhile, but she moved the dresser back into place and dragged her father down the stairs. The stairs creaked threateningly, and she was afraid they were going to break at times, but she wanted her father as far away as possible. She brought him to his room where Alexis sat on the bed, reading a book and blinking back tears, and she glanced up in shock when she saw Raven. "What…what did you do? Raven, your eyes are more yellow. What happened?"

"He was attacking me. I fought back. Evidently I…hurt him."

"_Evidently_." Even Alexis seemed scared of Raven now, eyes darting around the room like she was looking for an escape. "I think it would be best if you waited in your room. I'm calling the boarding school and getting an interview."

Raven's eyes widened. "No, Mom. I did what I had to do, right? He was gonna—"

"No child should live in a house where they have to battle their own father."

_So it was alright when he did what he wanted to me for fourteen years, and the one time I fight back, you're sending me away? _Raven's head was spinning, both from the shock of the transformations earlier and the present betrayal. Too weak to argue, she walked back to her room, mostly feeling the way up the stairs as her vision became crowded with black spots.

When she collapsed on the bed, her eyes seemed to close by themselves as darkness swallowed her.

_The darkness was still there, but instead of the soft bed, she felt the rough floorboards underneath her. Unlike the calm nothingness of sleep, this darkness was harsh and treacherous, the silence filled by Richard's taunting. "Are you sorry yet?"_

_Instead of replying, five-year-old Raven banged her fists on the door as she gulped in breath between screams. Usually she was quiet, trying to keep thirst away for as long as possible, but not this time. And suddenly her hands were huge, so big that the closet doors were knocked off their hinges and into—_

Raven bolted upright in bed and immediately stood to look at herself in the mirror.

_That's not my skin_, her sleepy mind slowly realized. _That's not my face. And that's definitely not my body._ _I'm Troy again. _"I want to be Raven now," she whispered. It was the only way that she knew for sure would transform her back, and it did. _Maybe if I figured out how to use this just a little…I could make my hair just a little more brown so it wouldn't stand out so much…and I could make my eyes a nice sky blue, like Lauren's…._ The hair wasn't hard to change, but her eyes wouldn't budge. Finally she lost concentration and her hair returned to its normal hue. _Maybe it'll get easier with practice._

Then she realized that the house was quiet. No light was streaming through her window. _Mom let me sleep. It's nighttime. I wonder if she called the boarding school._

Raven knew one way to find out. Tiptoeing carefully down the stairs, she entered the kitchen and flipped through the calendar. On the following date, Alexis had written the words _Appointment with Xavier and Lehnsherr._

There was nothing Raven could do about an appointment that had already been set up, but since she wouldn't be surprised by it now, she could plan ahead. _I'll act dumb and they won't take me. That's all I have to do. If it's really this super-exclusive school for the gifted, I doubt they want freaks like me anyway. I'll show them I'm a monster and they'll run away._

Yes, that was all she had to do. Give them a little taste of her powers, scare them, and she'd never have to think about private boarding schools ever again. After all, she could take care of herself against Richard now.

She went back to sleep and prayed that, when she woke up, she would be herself.


	3. The Interview

**Chapter III**

Raven bolted into a sitting position when she heard her mother screaming. "No—Mom—shut up!" In a split second, Brianna's body became Raven's.

For a long moment, her mother only stood there with her hand over her mouth. "Who _are_ you?"

"I'm Raven, Mom. I know who I am, I just don't know _what_ I am."

"Well—you were supposed to have an appointment with the professors today, but I don't see how that's possible. We need to get you to a doctor."

"No! I don't need a doctor. I can control this."

"And that's why your eyes are still yellow?"

Looking down at her hands, Raven mumbled, "I'm working on that. But feel free to cancel the appointment; it's not like they can take me now."

"I don't know about that. Stephen—my friend's son—didn't think he would get accepted, but they let him in. And face it, Raven, you have a rare case that needs to be under careful surveillance. As much as I wish I could, honey, I can't give that to you. I have to work. Who else can you stay with? _Him_?"

"I don't need medical attention! I already told you I'm working on controlling it."

"Don't tell me what you need, Raven. Shower and get dressed. They'll be here in an hour."

_An hour? That's hardly enough time to get ready!_ Muttering a curse under her breath, Raven frantically grabbed her clothes and headed for the shower. Although she was already certain that she was going to hate the "professors", if they were going to think she was a freak, they at least didn't have to think she was a dirty one.

After she showered, it was easy to pick out what to wear. For all that the students at her now-former high school liked to make fun of her for her "gothic" tendencies, they had never really seen her out of her uniform. Had they known what she wore on weekends, they would have been sorely disappointed, she was sure. _No pentagram T-shirts and black nail polish for me_, she thought with a smile on her face as she dressed in her jeans and blue top. Neither was particularly interesting, although the jeans happened to be the only piece of designer clothing she owned. Once on a rare trip to an actual name-brand store, she had indulged herself in that one item, but other than that, her wardrobe was painstakingly plain.

Right after she pulled her shirt on, her mother knocked on her door and said, "They're here. Hurry up, I have to let them in."

"But I haven't put on any makeup—" Raven began to protest, but she stopped when she heard her mother's footsteps retreating down the creaky wooden staircase. With a grunt of displeasure, the girl flung open her door and stalked down the stairs, slamming her foot into them as hard as possible so that her mother would know just how upset she was.

Unfortunately, she wasn't thinking about how she had dragged her father down that very same staircase the previous day. The poor fourteen-year-old stairs were already frail and beginning to rot, and they didn't appreciate their brutal treatment at Raven's hands…or rather, her feet.

So when she slammed one unlucky foot into the final step, the foot went straight through the hollow wood and hit the floor. A short scream came out of her mouth before she caught herself.

The woodchips stuck into her foot like pins and needles, and though she yanked at her foot, it wouldn't budge. The wood had quite happily trapped it. _Just my luck. The one day it matters if I look like an idiot in my house._

Alexis had heard the crack, but she wasn't paying attention, and it didn't register in her head. Not wanting to shout to her mother for help, Raven could only watch as Alexis opened the door and two unfamiliar men walked inside the house.

One raised an eyebrow. "We better not have come all this way for nothing, Charles," said the other, who smirked.

"Don't worry, Erik. This one's at least Class Two , if not Three."

"Erik" seemed impressed, if far too amused by Raven's plight. In this time, Alexis, who hadn't been listening, was busy trying to help Raven. She eventually succeeded in freeing her daughter.

Red-faced, Raven sat on the couch. Blood trickled ever-so-slightly from her foot. There was an awkward silence as she and her mother waited for the men to fill it.

The one called Charles finally said, "My name is Professor Charles Xavier, and this is Dr. Erik Lehnsherr. I presume you are Alexis and Raven Darkholme?"

"I'm Raven, she's Alexis," said Raven awkwardly.

"Well, now that we've got this interview off to such a smashing start, let's begin the questions, shall we?" said Dr. Lehnsherr. Raven fixed a glare in his direction and decided that she didn't like him; he seemed to be having far too much fun watching her squirm.

Professor Xavier said, "Raven, this is going to sound like a strange question, but can you tell us when you were last angry at someone?"

Raven swallowed. _Here goes nothing_. "Yesterday." Not wanting to mention her father, she said, "This punk was trying to pull my eyelids up so he could see my eyes. And then this girl from the volleyball team was mad at me too.

"And what happened to the 'punk' and the 'girl from the volleyball team'?"

It was hard for Raven not to laugh at the way he asked. Her words sounded completely different coming from him. Alexis thought it was an odd question, but it was the first indication to Xavier of a mutant's powers. He could have just probed Raven's mind, of course, but he preferred to find out as many things as he could by simply asking.

"I slapped Troy so hard he was bleeding. And I think I broke the girl's nose. I don't know. She went to the hospital, and no one's told me how she is. Maybe she's dead." At the last three words, Alexis narrowed her eyes at Raven in a warning. _There's no way they'll want me now._

"And did you mean for this to happen, Raven?"

"Of course not! I never _tried_ to hurt anyone."

The desperation in her voice was obvious even to Dr. Lehnsherr, the one without psychic abilities. "Alexis, could we speak to Raven alone for a moment?"

"Sure," Alexis said, surprised they hadn't left already.

When she was in her room, and had closed the door, Xavier asked, "Have you hurt anyone else before on accident, Raven? You can tell me the truth. Everyone has hurt someone without meaning to."

"Has everyone knocked their dad out?"

"And when did this happen, Raven?"

_I wish he'd stop saying my name_. "Yesterday."

"How is your father now?"

Raven thought about it. "I haven't seen him all day, but he must be fine if he could leave the house."

"Did he do anything to provoke you, or was it a complete accident?"

_What is he, a psychologist?_ "Can we talk about something else?"

Xavier nodded. "Raven, there's something I need to tell you, and you might not believe me at first."

"Try me." _After yesterday, I'll believe anything_.

"Dr. Lehnsherr and I are special kinds of humans that have different abilities than most. For example, he can manipulate all kinds of metal. I'm assuming your abilities give you some kind of strength, but I also think there might be more to you than that. Am I correct?" When Raven hesitated, he said, "If you don't want to say it aloud, I can enter your mind and find out what happened at the school yesterday."

Although Raven wasn't sure she liked the idea of someone poking around in her head, she also wasn't sure if she really believed this nonsense about special powers. "Sure, go ahead." _Let's see this guy prove he's nuts._

For a few long minutes, Xavier seemed to stare into space. Finally he said, "Your powers are truly remarkable."

Raven's eyes widened and she pushed herself further back on the couch. "What do you mean?"

_**I mean your abilities as a shapeshifter.**_

Although she didn't speak, her mouth was slightly open and her eyes darted around the room, searching for the source of the voice.

"I'm going to assume Charles has spoken to your mind. Don't worry, you're not insane," said Dr. Lehnsherr. "Most mutations affect the physical world, but he specializes in the mind."

_**Our school is very different from most. Rather than normal students, we only admit humans with special abilities, or mutations—called "mutants".**_

_So they run a school for superhumans and they want _me _there?_ thought Raven, not realizing that Charles was still in her head.

_**Absolutely**_.

The certainty in his voice was reassuring, but Raven still hadn't forgotten her resolution to stay home.

"Can you bring your mother back in here?"

Reluctantly, Raven went to her mother's room and knocked on the door. "I think they're done," she said. "They want you to come back out."

Emerging from her room, Alexis reentered the living room. "Do you think Raven...can she—"

"We would be honored if Raven would attend our school," replied Xavier. Dr. Lehnsherr just smirked again.

_No!_ Raven vaguely wanted to hit them. She wasn't sure who was worse; the one making her leave home or the one who wouldn't stop silently making fun of her. _I'd like to be able to decide whether I have to leave home or not._

Alexis' jaw dropped, but she quickly remembered herself. "Oh…why, that's wonderful." _Don't sound so shocked, Mom_. "When can she start?"

"The current semester ends in only a few days, so she can easily begin with us after the holiday break, if that's alright with you."

Alexis sighed in relief. "Wonderful. I can't thank you enough."

_No, you can't. Now can you make them leave?_

When they had finally exchanged the final details, said their goodbyes, and departed, Raven wouldn't speak to her mother. She stomped up to her room, making sure to skip the broken step, and made the decision that the new school was going to be miserable.

_Just because _everyone _there is a freak won't make me less of one._


	4. Mutant School

All you reviewers are lifesavers. Especially when I'm lying in bed bored and my phone goes PING, you have email. And then I get to read a nice review. As promised I've reviewed all of you back, one of you didn't have any fanfics so I hunted down your fictionpress and reviewed there...(I'm not sure if you knew who I was cause i have a different username, but ANYWAY) Thanks to you six. Hopefully you'll find me worthy of reviewing again sometime XD

New readers are like...well, I can't think of a decent metaphor. But new readers are always great too. R&R and I'll do the same for you within, like, a day. I'm online a lot. It's a good deal, I'd take it if I was you XD

Since I never put a disclaimer before, here 'tis. I only own my non-Marvel characters, my OCs, and if you want to steal them, feel free to take them. I'm not sure what you would want with them anyway, but I'd be flattered to see them stolen and put in some famous novel one day. TAKE THEM I BEG OF YOU!

**Chapter IV**

Raven pulled the covers over her head. "I'm not going."

"Come on," coaxed Alexis, and Raven turned over in bed. "You have to."

"No."

"Get up, Raven!"

"Mom, I _will_ get up, just leave first."

Startled, Alexis pulled her hand away from her daughter. "Sure. I'll wait outside while you get dressed, just as long as you promise to get up."

"I promise."

When her mother had left, Raven stood up and ran a hand over her body to observe its new texture. This new form was…_blue_, to say the least. She imagined her old body, and when she transformed back again, she breathed a sigh of relief.

The only problem was that it took concentration to keep herself that way, and she could never do it while she slept. While she could have clothed herself with her power, too, she decided to dress normally just in case she had an "accident." It would still be shocking for her mother to see the blue scales that seemed to be cropping up all over her body, but at least she wouldn't be naked.

_I'm as ready as I'll ever be._ She joined her mother in the car and they drove to the airport, from where they caught a plane to Westchester, New York. The ride was mostly silent, and Alexis took this to mean that her daughter was furious at her for sending her to the boarding school. In truth, Raven was deep in thought, hopeful that she wouldn't have to keep herself in a "normal" form all the time. _Whether they can fix me or only make me more of a freak, it takes too much energy to keep up my normal body all day with Mom._

"Remember, if things don't work out, you can come home at any time," said Alexis in an attempt to patch things up with her daughter at the last minute.

Only half-listening, Raven shrugged and stared into space.

For all Raven had let her mother think she was angry, she couldn't help giving her a hug when it was time to say goodbye. "I'll see you in...June, I guess."

Alexis ran a hand through her daughter's hair. "I'll miss you, sweetheart."

Raven nodded, slightly embarrassed. "I'll go, um, find my room, then."

They exchanged farewells, and then Alexis left. She caught a taxi and was driven off.

For a moment, Raven only stood there, stunned. Either she was finally free of everyone who had ever hated her, and this would be a new chapter in her life better than any other…or she was just entering another prison.

With a sigh, she entered the school. _This is more like a mansion_, she realized, observing the beautiful portraits lining the walls and the fancy furniture. There, a boy not much older than her greeted her and said that his name was Scott Summers, and he would be showing her around. She didn't ask about the strange sunglasses on his face.

"This is where Professor X teaches physics," he said. "Class starts at 8:30 AM. It's okay to be a few minutes late, just don't try to make up excuses around a psychic. You've met the Professor, right? He probably came to your house and interviewed you."

Raven nodded. "He was reading my mind, and I hated it."

"Usually he doesn't, don't worry. Otherwise I'd have been kicked out long ago." Scott laughed at Raven's confused expression. "I took out my motorcycle on a school night and got a speeding ticket. The Professor didn't like that."

"What does that have to do with telepathy?"

"Let's just say I wasn't exactly thinking friendly thoughts when he was lecturing me. It's the first time I got in trouble here, and I wasn't happy about it."

Raven raised an eyebrow. _I can tell_. From the kid's perfectly-combed hair to his neat, ironed clothing, he looked pretty boring for a "mutant". _Hopefully my roommate will be a little more exciting_. "Do you know who my roommate will be?"

Confused, Scott replied, "We don't do that here. After all, wouldn't want someone's powers going off unexpectedly in the middle of the night and endangering someone else."

"Oh." _Well, that's probably for the better. If they wake up and I've changed into a stranger to them, especially in a guy form like Troy, things could get embarrassing._

They toured for awhile longer, until she was familiar with the school grounds. Then Scott showed her to her room, where she unpacked and would spend the night before beginning classes the next day.

Later, when she looked back on that first night, she wondered just how close she had been to losing her mind. And she became very, very appreciative of the "no roommates" policy.

Hands grasping her head, she shifted between forms as if she was a deck of cards being shuffled, against her will. She didn't know what form she wanted to take, just as long as it wasn't the form of her mutant self. The blue scales, the strange eyes, the ugly red hair that replaced her black locks—_I'd give anything for my own body. I want to be _me_. I hate this…blue person, that's not me. Make me Raven_.

But no matter how hard she tried, her body wouldn't settle on the one form that she wished to take. It just kept switching and transforming and reforming. _No! No no no!_

Before long, she realized that she whispering that chant to herself over and over again, frantically growing louder. _I need to stop before someone comes in and sees me like this, or before my mind wakes up Xavier's._ She didn't know if that was possible, but the thought of taking that chance was enough to keep her from tossing and turning.

"But I can't sleep. If I dream, I'll—" _And here I'm talking to myself like an idiot, but I'm not gonna dream again and wake up like that. I want to wake up in my own body, not someone else's._ _I'll sleep in class where someone'll wake me up before I get the chance to dream, but I'm not sleeping here._

She stood up and paced around the room, forms still shifting. The room spun before her eyes and her muscles burned in protest, but she kept walking and demanding her body to transform even though she knew it was the cause of her pain. Shifting took energy, and now she was beyond exhausted, stumbling over anything on the floor that wasn't obvious enough for her weary eyes to see. She forced her eyelids to stay open. _I'm not sleeping until I know I can be me again._

Although she paced and shifted desperately for over an hour, she couldn't take it anymore. Her legs burned, but then, so did everything else. _I'll find something to eat. That'll give me energy. Yeah, food. That'll give me energy and I'll be myself again_.

Walking as quietly as possible so as not to alert anyone, she travelled the seemingly-endless hallways and tried to keep track of where she was headed. But the walls were even hazier than they had been in her room, and nothing seemed to stay still. Every creak alerted her uneasy mind, startled her into hiding, lest someone be prowling the halls for students like her, students who didn't stay in their rooms after lights-out.

Had she been familiar with the mansion, she would've known that it was common for mutants to be up in the middle of the night, and certainly not disallowed. Xavier understood the insomnia that could be caused by anxiety or developing powers, especially new students. But Raven had never experienced that before. _If someone sees me and turns me in…._she didn't know _what_ would happen, but considering Xavier's powers, there were a vast number of punishments he could enact on her.

Deep in her thoughts, she suddenly slammed into something hard and cried out. When she hit the wall, her body morphed immediately into the form of Troy, and she forced it back while she examined herself for damages. _I hope that's not the wall to someone's room._

But when she looked, she realized it was one of the doors leading outside. _How did I get here?_

Suddenly she heard footsteps, though her sleepy mind couldn't tell how far away they were, or where they were coming from. Desperate for an escape, she opened the door and ran into the courtyard. She closed the door behind her, but her eyes widened as she realized why it had been left unlocked—large stone walls surrounded the open area. She had just cornered herself. Unsure of what to do, she hid behind a fountain and watched as Erik Lehnsherr opened the door and stepped outside.

As if he had Xavier's intuition, he walked right up to the fountain and knelt by her. "Raven Darkholme?"

"I—I—I'm sorry. I couldn't sleep."

He knelt by her, a concerned look on his face instead of the anger she expected. "Raven, you seem exhausted, and possibly ill. Were you trying to run away in this condition?" When she hesitated, he continued, "I can't tell you how many students have been in exactly your position. You're so far away from home, it's perfectly normal to want to return."

She searched his face for the signs of horror that she was certain to find, and yet he barely seemed to notice her blue, scaled form. "I didn't want to…to go to sleep, dream, and wake up as someone else. I've been doing that ever since I started changing, and it's getting old."

Dr. Lehnsherr nodded understandingly. "It can be difficult to deal with the development of powers."

"You're not mad that I'm out here?" she asked bluntly. _If he's gonna punish me, I'd rather him do it now than talk all nice and do it later._

"Of course not. I have never seen anyone with your type of power, and it is not even finished revealing itself. You have perhaps greater potential than any mutant I have ever known. Never fear your own abilities!" There was great urgency in his voice, almost as if he was afraid she could somehow reject her powers. "_Embrace_ them."

"I did, before. But I don't want to be someone else." Her voice cracked, and she hated herself for it.

Dr. Lehnsherr smiled. "Think of this as though you are still Raven, but one with more ability and strength than your old, undeveloped self could ever have. You are no longer a pitiable human; you are a _mutant_, a being of far more potential."

"I don't want to be a mutant. The humans have more power than I do; they have strength in numbers."

His jaw tightened. "By the time you leave this school, you will be able to make even the most 'powerful' of humans tremble at the sight of you."

"Really?" Finally Raven looked up at him, with wide, curious eyes.

He nodded gravely. "They already fear you, Raven, but not enough. You'll be able to pay them back for every word, and no human will dare harm you again."

She imagined her father, Troy, Brianna, and all the others. And she couldn't help the grin that spread across her face.


	5. Chameleon and Toad

**Chapter V**

The first thing she did when she woke up was morph herself back from Brianna into her "normal" self. She glared fiercely at her hands as they shrunk from Brianna's long, willowy fingers into her own scaled ones, and the glaring gave her something to distract herself from the rapidly-fading beauty that became freakishness in less than half a minute. _Doesn't take long to make me ugly! _But when she thought those words, she wasn't bitter or angry about it—she was excited, her blood already pumping. She was eager to begin her training, to start on the path to power like Dr. Lehnsherr had promised.

For this reason, she found herself staring at the clock in her first class. Physics was important if you were a scientist, but for physical training, not so much. _I thought this would at least be a challenge or something._

"Raven, did you hear me? Answer the question, please."

Startled, she blinked and sat up straight in her chair. Quickly she scanned the chalkboard and read the question: _Grains of sand from a California beach are approximately spheres with an average radius of 47.5 μm and are made of silicon dioxide. A solid cube of silicon dioxide with a volume of 1.00 m3 has a mass of 2600 kg. What mass (in g) of sand grains would have a total surface area (the total area of all the individual spheres) equal to the surface area of a cube 1.82 m on an edge?_

A boy next to her, a freshman named Brian who was over six feet tall, snickered. Raven wrote a few things down, thought about it for a moment, and looked up from her paper to answer, "Mass is 613.6221 grams."

The tall kid rolled his eyes as the teacher, who had been expecting Raven to ask a question, nodded. "Excellent. Can anyone tell me…."

With a sigh, Raven leaned back and rested her head on the wall behind her. Although she'd woken up with plenty of zeal, her restless night was catching up with her…her eyelids felt heavier and it seemed as though time stood still….

Someone tapped her on the arm. "Excuse me, Raven, but we need you to stay awake."

Lifting head, Raven saw with horror that she had changed, and quickly returned to her blue, scaly self. _He didn't yell at me, and he didn't run away. Dr. Lehnsherr wasn't mad or scared either. Maybe being at a school for freaks does have its benefits. _But one thought still nagged at her—_Why am I always changing into Brianna?_

Thankfully, her next class was much more exciting. It was like P.E., but designed to develop a student's enhanced abilities as a mutant. The instructor had lightning-fast reflexes and strength that left Raven in amazement. Even better, students were mostly taught courses in fighting techniques, something that would come in handy no matter what powers a mutant had. "Last semester we looked into karate, and now we will touch on the basics of judo, which originated in Japan in the 1800s. The goal is to throw one's opponent to the ground, immobilize one's opponent with a grappling maneuver, or force an opponent to submit by executing a choke or joint-locking the elbow. _However_, we're going to focus more on the self-defense aspects of judo. Some argue that judo is not an ideal art for self-defense, but I've found many ways to disprove that common theory."

Raven held in a groan. _All that buildup just to say we're _not_ going to learn how to joint-lock people's elbows? Maybe they'll have a book on real judo in the library or something_. But since self-defense would still be an important skill to have, of course, Raven did her best to pay attention even though she could hardly keep her head up in her next class, some kind of advanced math. By the time it was lunch, she wasn't sure exactly what classes she'd sat through.

Lunch was a whole different animal. She walked into the large room and realized that the only people she knew by name were Brian, the huge kid from her physics class, and Scott, who had given her the tour of the mansion. But both of them were sitting at a huge table with a dozen other boys laughing at some joke, and even if they did let her sit with them, she wasn't sure she _wanted_ to sit with a bunch of noisy, immature guys. In fact, everyone seemed to be sitting in large groups, although there was a single table with only a boy and a girl that weren't even talking to one another.

_Bingo,_ Raven thought, and seated herself at their table without a word.

"Hey there," said the boy in a tone that she could only think of as a hiss. He stuck out his tongue and grabbed the orange that she held near her mouth.

Raven stood up in disgust as he held it out to her. "Keep the damn thing."

The girl tugged at Raven's shirt and motioned for her to sit back down.

Though Raven did, she sat as far away as she could from the boy who reminded her all too much of a snake. "Who's he?" she asked as he chewed on her orange, mouth open so that it was as gross as possible.

The girl shrugged.

"Name's Toad," the boy said. "That's Ara. She don't speak much."

"Guess not," Raven muttered. "I can guess your power, what's hers?" She studied the girl, trying to guess it in her head. The girl's skin was white as a sheet of paper, just like the long hair that mostly hid her face.

"Blends into whatever. They call us Chameleon and Toad. Everyone gets nicknames here, even the professors."

Raven laughed. "What do they call the professors?"

"Xavier's called Professor X, and Lehnsherr's Magneto. They don't mind it. They encourage it, says it brings us together. A lot of people think it's stupid, but it don't matter. Me and Chameleon, we're lost causes either." He licked the remains of the orange a few times and smacked his lips. "What's yours?"

"My power? Shapeshifting."

"Sorta like Ara, then, but she only changes color. And they think she can do other shit too, but never does. You must be, what, a Class Three?"

"Um, I guess so. Why doesn't she talk?"

Toad shrugged. "She never told me."

"Fair enough."

For awhile they ate in silence, and Raven almost forgot he was there until his tongue jerked out and brushed her arm.

"Hey!" shouted Raven, jumping up. "What the hell was that for?"

As Ara grabbed Raven's arm and pulled on her desperately, Toad smirked. "I think she likes you."

Raven wanted to yell, _What's _wrong_ with you retards?_ But it would only get the unwanted attention of the other students, who were already glancing in her direction, and it was doubtful that Toad would care anyway. So, if only for the sake of the puppy-eyed Ara, Raven sat back down and resolved to scrub herself thoroughly that night to get the feel of his slippery tongue off her blue scales.

Besides, it wasn't like she had anywhere better to be sitting anyway, besides the bathroom, and she refused to sink that low again. _This isn't elementary school._

And a nagging feeling inside of her _did_ want to find out why Ara never spoke.

Only slightly ashamed that she was talking about Ara right in front of her, she asked Toad, "When did she get here?"

Toad tilted his head and thought about the question. "Hmm…she came in the same group as me and Summers. If you don't know him, he's the suck-up with lasers in his head…. We were on this island being tested on when X rescued us."

"What did they do at the island? What kind of experiments?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "Fine, I don't care."

When lunch was over, Raven was walking to her next class when she started to feel as though someone was following her. She turned around to see Ara's small, scrawny frame that barely came up to her chest. "Want something?"

Ara blinked up at her with big white eyes, and Raven shuddered before turning around and walking to class.

Over the next few days, Raven often looked over her shoulder to see Ara behind her. _Just my luck, we have every class together._ The girl didn't seem to want to leave Raven alone, and although she still hadn't spoken, she had a variety of hand motions to communicate anything from "I'll be back in a second" to asking Raven what book she was reading.

"_Kokokan Judo,_" Raven replied, not taking her eyes off the book. Ara's hand motions could be seen in the corner of her eye, and she was beginning to get pretty distracted. Just the sight of Ara made her tense up. _I didn't ask for a shadow_.

Two weeks after her arrival at the mansion, everyone was talking about the news—discussion of a Mutant Registration Act in the U.S. Congress, which would essentially brand all mutants and let the whole country know exactly who to be afraid of.

"Why does it matter? Everyone pretty much knows this is a school for mutants anyway."

"Are you kiddin'? My parents don't. They'd flip out if they got sent, like, papers for me to 'register' as a 'certified mutant.'"

"Did you see Magneto? He was _furious_."

"Hate crimes against mutants are already growing just with all the talk about us in the news."

"How's Professor X taking it?"

"He's pretty calm, but then, he probably knew it was coming weeks ago."

"Yeah, really."

As Raven sat and pretended to read her book while she listened to the other students' chatter, suddenly Scott Summers approached her and said, "Professor X wants to see you in his office."

Her eyes widened. "What do they want?"

"Relax, you're not in trouble. They check with all the new students after two weeks, kind of like a progress report. I still have private talks with the Professor every few weeks."

_You would_, thought Raven. In her few days at the mansion, she had already noticed that Scott always participated in class and obeyed the rules to the letter, something that teachers, naturally, loved. "I'll stop by the office. Hey—Scott?" she asked as he started to walk away.

"Yeah?"

"Can you tell me anything about the Chameleon?" Scott stopped and turned, a confused look on his face, and Raven explained, "Toad mentioned that some people call Ara that."

He nodded. "I see. Well, we've noticed she's been following you. And you're wondering what's up with that, right?"

"How'd you know," Raven said dryly.

Scott looked to make sure no one else was around and said, "To tell you the truth, no one really knows why, but she just latches onto people like that until people force her to go away. Maybe it's a part of a power that's still developing, we don't know. Xavier's tried looking in her mind, but I hear it's blank."

"How can it be blank? She _has_ one, doesn't she?"

"Yeah, she's pretty good in class, but apparently there just wasn't anything there when he looked. We think it might have something to do with the experiments at the island we were rescued from."

"Toad shut up when I asked him about that."

With a shrug, Scott replied, "That's understandable. He had it worse than I did, not that it was vacation for me either. But I never even saw Ara because she was always being…taken to other places. Probably underwent all sorts of horrible experiments."

Raven nodded. "Thanks for the info. I'll go see the Professor, then."

As Raven ascended the stairs to the top floor, where the Headmaster's Office awaited her, she marveled at how easy it had been to have that simple conversation with Scott. At her old school, had she dared ask anybody anything, at best she was ignored and at worst she went home with a few bruises for getting in someone's way.

Nearing the office, she could hear Erik Lehnsherr's voice, and he was nearly shouting. "…deserve a better future! Of course it's masked as a simple 'registration', but they're already building the cells. And I don't know about you, Charles, but the last thing I want to see is our own students behind bars, let alone _us_. What crimes have we committed that they feel it necessary—"

He cut off, and Raven figured that Xavier had felt her approaching and shut Dr. Lehnsherr up. _At least I won't have to interrupt him when I enter_. She opened the door and Professor X greeted her with a smile, though it seemed forced. "Do sit down, Raven. I assume Scott sent you?"

"You could just read my mind," she said, and shrugged. "But yeah, he sent me." As she set her small frame down in the chair she felt even smaller looking up at the two men, especially Erik Lehnsherr, who stood.

With a nod, the professor said, "Actually, that is something I hoped to ask you about. Typically, when we acquire a new student, we like to become aware of their situation, a process that can be made much faster if you allow me to view your most basic memories—nothing intrusive, of course."

Raven shook her head. "No way."

Xavier blinked, obviously surprised. "It is true that students aren't entirely open to the idea, but are you sure? You will always be aware of exactly where I am in your memories, and if there is anything that you would prefer I not be made aware of, I will sense this immediately."

"Is it a requirement to continue at this school?"

"Well no, it isn't, but—"

"Then no."

For a long moment, Xavier seemed to be staring into space. But when Raven followed his gaze, she realized that he was looking directly into Dr. Lehnsherr's eyes. Clearly, they were communicating telepathically. While Xavier's eyes were wide and seemed to be asking a question, Lehnsherr's jaw was set and he seemed almost angry.

"What?" she asked. Her hands started to feel sweaty and clammy, and she wished they would speak instead of stare at one another.

"I just find it a little odd that you are completely set in your refusal, Raven. Very few students flat-out refuse—"

_I bet Ara did_, Raven wanted to shout.

_**This is not about Ara. This is about you, Raven, and what's best for you**_.

"Please don't talk to me in my head."

"We can speak, then. Ara is a special case, and I am only attempting to help you. Perhaps when we speak again in a few weeks, you will be more open to the idea."

_I doubt it,_ Raven thought, and then cursed herself for thinking.

"Please don't feel the need to monitor your own thoughts around me, Raven. With this amount of students, I have heard everything you can imagine." He smiled and then said, "Feel free to leave unless you have any questions for me."

Raven shook her head, stood up, and left the room. As she closed the door behind her and walked down the stairs, a sense of relief filled her until she heard their voices within the room. Hearing her name said aloud, she froze.

"…considerable resemblance to Chameleon and Toad."

"Pray tell, Charles, what is wrong with that? Both are extremely talented individuals."

"It's not her talent that I'm concerned with, Erik. While it is common that many of our students come from unstable family situations, abuse is a rare case, and something that concerns me greatly. That is what she shares with the other two—a hatred for her family, one that I believe to be very unhealthy and possibly harmful to her future growth."

Raven felt her blood boil. _How does he know that?_

"That is something that will have to be looked into, of course, but not through forcing her to hand over painful memories. Do you believe that Raven's association from the two stems from that one motive and no other?"

"Can you think of any other reason why she would associate with those two?"

There was a long pause, and finally, "For whatever reason, Toad and Ara gravitated towards one another months ago, and you did not seem nearly as concerned about the two of them. Why, then, does their inclusion of Raven worry you? Are they not branching out and showing that they are capable of forming more positive relationships?"

"From what I have gathered, Toad and Ara also shared the bond of knowing what the other has been through at the hands of Stryker and were able to help one another cope with those horrors. Their relationship was built on a shared experience and empathy, and even though I am unable to read Ara, she broadcasts these feelings whenever I speak with her. However, Raven's broadcasts are considerably darker. I am not altogether sure that these facilities are sufficient for her situation—"

"_These facilities" aren't sufficient for my "situation"? _Raven curled her fists and realized at that moment that the professor had shut up all of a sudden. _I must have been…"broadcasting". He knows I'm here and now he's afraid to say what he means out loud!_

As she began to walk away, she suddenly heard Dr. Lehnsherr's voice. "Surely you sense the potential within her, Charles. At least permit her a few more weeks. The child is no doubt homesick—I've seen her wandering the halls at night—and she is still dealing with her inability to return to her old self. Perhaps all she needs is a little more time."

Although hearing herself referred to as a child caused Raven to bristle, she smiled anyway, satisfied that at least someone believed she would somehow change her mind about the professor reading her mind. _Not like that's going to happen, but it's nice to think about. _Maybe they would kick her out eventually, but at least for one moment, _someone_ wanted her. And that was more than she could say for her parents.


	6. Cheater

**Chapter VI**

"I know everyone here loves him," Raven whispered, "but I can't stand Xavier. Everyone hails him as some kind of god but all he's done so far is invade my privacy and tell Lehnsherr I shouldn't be here."

Toad laughed under his breath, a sound like nails scraping on a chalkboard even if it was quiet. "He ain't any more fond of me."

"Yeah, but he feels bad for you. Even though he's apparently seen what I've been through from my memories, he thinks I'm too messed up to help."

"Maybe you are." Raven glared at him, and Toad only shrugged. "I am. They just keep me around cause it makes them feel good, like they're helping a poor tortured soul."

The teacher fixed a stare in Raven's direction, and she didn't reply until the teacher began lecturing again. "And what have they accomplished so far?"

"A lot of wasted time."

Suddenly Raven jumped as the teacher said, "If you two can't keep quiet and pay attention, all I have to do is move one of you to the front."

When the teacher turned away, Raven and Toad both rolled their eyes. Toad yanked a piece of paper out of his notebook, wrote, _What got you on X's bad side?_, and passed it to Raven.

_I told him I didn't want him to read my mind_, Raven replied. i

_I don't know what his problem is, then._

_What do you mean?_

_I told him to go to hell._

About to laugh, Raven coughed to hide the sound, and wished that she'd had the nerve to do that—after all, it pretty much summed up her thoughts at the time. _And how did that go over?_

_Pretty well, I'm still here. Telepaths are used to it._

_Do you want to get kicked out?_

_I don't care. And it's fun to see how long Dr. Lehnsherr will convince him to let me stay._

Raven's eyes widened and she wrote, _He's the only reason I'm here, too._

The bell rang for them to go to lunch, and as they packed up their books, Toad crumpled the paper and raised his voice so Raven could hear him above the bustle of the other students. "Yeah, I've noticed he seems to like us loners. Every once in awhile he'll talk to me and Ara about whatever, but he hardly ever talks to anyone else."

As Raven tossed a few papers of her own in the trash, Toad's tongue leapt out and caught them. In a split second they were in his mouth and he was chewing on them.

"You're disgusting," Raven muttered, and headed to the lunch area. Before long, both Toad and Ara were close behind her. Suddenly she turned and headed towards the door. "I wanna eat outside today." Without a word, the two other mutants simply turned and followed her out until she sat on one of the benches.

_That's a first, people following me just to eat with me_. Raven smiled to herself and thought about the irony of it all. _Well, I may not be less of a freak, but I've found out in these few days that there are people out there who are actually stranger than me_. Her thoughts were confirmed when Toad snatched one of Ara's sandwiches with his tongue and Ara didn't even blink—_she's used to it._

"If you could just get up and leave, would you?"

In a move that Raven was beginning to recognize as a habit of Toad's, he tilted his head to think over the question. "Nah. At least we're all mutants here. Anywhere else, people'd kill me instead of just wish I'd shut up and act normal."

"Why don't you?"

With a scowl, Toad snapped, "What is this, Twenty Questions? Cause I don't have to, and it's fun to screw with people. And Ara don't mind, do you, Ara?"

The tiny girl shook her head so quickly that her white hair whipped across her face.

A grin spread across Raven's face as an idea struck her. "She's pretty obedient, huh?"

"You have no idea."

Toad laughed, loudly this time, and the sound made Raven want to cover her ears. A shiver ran up her spine as the impact of his words hit her, but she didn't say anything except, "She any good at English?"

"You're worried about that paper comin' up?"

"How'd you know?"

"Ara'll do yours right after she's done with mine, won't you, Ara?"

The pale girl nodded and even smiled a little bit. Taken aback, Raven raised her eyebrows. _I was kidding, but if she'll really do it, I don't see why not. I can't believe she's so obedient._ "How come the other kids don't do this to her?" Raven demanded.

"They're scared of X finding them out, or Ara telling on them, or whatever."

"Somehow the second one doesn't seem likely."

Toad smirked. "I agree."

As lunch continued, they talked more, mostly about the Mutant Registration Act and other news pertaining to mutants, like a kindergarten teacher who had recently been arrested for hiding the fact that one of her students was a telepath so that the kid wouldn't get kicked out of the school. And as they discussed it, Raven realized that it was becoming increasingly easier to have these simple conversations, as if she was a normal kid at a normal school.

Although, watching Toad's tongue dart in the air to catch whatever insects happened to be nearby, she couldn't help but wish that she wasn't having these conversations _as if_everything was normal. _Is it too much to ask just to _be _normal_?

Since the next day was a Saturday, Raven expected to sleep uninterrupted, but the knock on the door proved a welcome relief from the nightmare that had left her panting and sweating. Quickly morphing back into herself, she breathed a sigh of relief when she saw that it was only Ara, and the girl set a pile of papers on Raven's nightstand.

"Already? Good service," Raven muttered, shuffling through the papers. Satisfied, she looked up at Ara and said, "Thanks." In reply, Ara simply nodded. Raven scanned the report and, unable to find any errors in it, decided to make it up to Ara with some kind of reward. _I doubt Toad ever does_.

She handed it to her teacher that morning, before she even ate breakfast, and felt a swell of accomplishment when the teacher congratulated her on such good work. _I didn't do it, sure, but I got someone else to do it, and that's an accomplishment all in itself._

The next morning, Ara appeared again. "Are you my wake-up call as well as my report-writer?"

Without a word, Ara handed Raven a note: _Dr. Lehnsherr wishes for you to come by his office sometime today. He says that it is an important matter._

Reading it over, Raven groaned. "Can't they leave me alone?"

Ara shrugged.

"If you leave, I'll get ready to see him."

Taking the not-so-subtle hint, Ara nodded again and left the room.

When Raven was dressed, she headed down to the eating area for breakfast and smiled upon seeing that neither Ara nor Toad were in the room. _As much as I'd rather not eat alone, dealing with them gets old after three meals a day, every day, not to mention class_. It was nice, not having to guard her food from another mutant's tongue.

When she had finished eating, she headed up to Erik Lehnsherr's office and cautiously knocked on the door. "Come in," he said casually. As she entered, she wondered if he could hear her heart beating. Although safety was never something she felt around Professor Xavier, the constant clicking of metal against metal in Dr. Lehnsherr's office warned her instinctively to watch her words, and her actions.

"You wanted to see me?"

He swiveled his chair around from the computer screen he'd been staring at before her arrival. "Yes. Something has come to my attention that I feel should be addressed immediately."

Having spoken mostly to Xavier in her time at the mansion, Raven immediately decided she preferred the telepath. _Lehnsherr knows I'm scared and he's trying to freak me out. Like something Toad would do, except this guy is scarier and it actually works. _"Sure, what is it?"

After flipping through a stack of papers, he finally said, "Ah, this looks like it," and set one in particular in front of Raven. "Do you recognize this?"

Scanning it quickly, Raven froze. "Should I?"

"Yes, one of our students noticed Ara composing this just the other day."

Raven's mind boiled his sentence down into two words: _I'm screwed._ "I wrote it, she was just editing it for me. I have her look over my stuff to—"

Erik Lehnsherr's fist slammed down on the desk and Raven stepped back in shock. "If there is one thing I will not tolerate from students, it is lying. Tell me you bribed her, tell me you forced her into it for heaven's sake, but if you lie I swear I'll see you expelled before the end of the day."

The blood drained from Raven's normally-blue face, leaving it unnaturally pale compared to the rest of her. "I just asked her to, that's all. I don't know why she agreed to do it, but if she wants to do it, that's her problem."

"And if you want to turn it is as your own work, it becomes yours."

_How come Toad does this for years and doesn't get in trouble, and then I try it once and get caught?_ "Doesn't she get in trouble too for helping another student cheat?" _That's what they usually do, right?_

"How pathetic," Dr. Lehnsherr muttered. "Not only are you too much of a coward to own up to it, but you try to bring them down with you."

"I just want to know where the reasoning is behind all this. I know of several students—" Okay, it was only one, but she could stretch the truth—"that do it all the time and don't get in trouble. So why is it that I do it once and get a lecture?"

"_You_ are supposed to be _better_ than this! Toad is, what, a Class _Two_?" scoffed Dr. Lehnsherr. "He and Ara are nothing compared to you and yet, gifted with such powers, you waste your time finding others to do your work and making pathetic excuses. It's past time for you to step up and show us that you truly are different from the other students."

"How many of the other students spend their free time reading books on Judo?" She almost didn't finish the sentence, shocking herself by how quickly it had come out of mouth, her thoughts unwilling to be suppressed.

That gave him pause, and after a moment he smiled. "Perhaps there is hope for you."

His words hung in the air and Raven could only stand in silence and wonder how she was supposed to respond to that. Finally she said, "Professor Xavier doesn't seem to think so," in a quiet voice, hoping he wouldn't be angry that she'd listened in on the conversation a few days past.

But without showing any other sign of surprise, he replied smoothly, "How fortunate it is for you, then, that I am not Xavier."

When Raven left his office, she felt considerably more reassured of her continued stay at the school, but the man's strange words raised more questions than they answered.


	7. Jason Striker

**Chapter VII**

A month had passed since her bizarre conversation with Erik Lehnsherr, and the school had been pretty boring since then. Tiptoeing around her teachers and the other students, she had managed to keep herself under the radar after flirting with danger by using Ara to cheat, and although it kept things considerably less stressful, life was beginning to get just a little too boring.

P.E. class was off to a good start when the teacher announced, "Today we're going to practice what we've learned in a slightly different way—using the Danger Room. Under careful supervision, of course."

_Finally!_ thought Raven, rubbing her hands together._ This'll_ _get things going again_.

A few of the female mutants stared at her with confused expressions on their faces; embarrassed, she pretended not to see them. The guys, who were fist-bumping and sizing up their opponents, seemed more properly excited.

The teacher continued, "Obviously, I will be handling the controls to prevent any kinds of injuries. You'll be fighting the illusion of soldiers, and they will keep coming at you until one of you is knocked down for more than fifteen seconds, and at that point your team loses. If anyone on your team has healing powers, feel free to use them. Get creative, develop your powers, and keep in mind that losers clean up the dining hall."

From across the room, Raven grinned at Toad, who glared back her. Chuckling under her breath, she mouthed the word _Scared?_ He made a face and stuck his tongue out at her.

Raven envisioned herself celebrating her victory with Toad and Ara. Immediately after hearing the rules, though, some of the students had already begun complaining. "Some of us have already used the Danger Room, that's not fair to the ones who haven't." "What about those of us whose powers aren't effective in combat?"

The teacher sighed. "You're mutants, you'll find a way. For team captains, let's see…Scott and Jason."

The other kids rolled their eyes—Scott was _always_ a team captain. As for Jason, no one really knew what to make of him, but at least he was quiet and not obnoxious like Toad.

Thankfully, Raven wasn't the last one picked; even if the girls perceived her as strange, a shapeshifter who spent her free time reading books about fighting techniques was a valuable asset and Scott seemed to recognize this. He also chose Toad pretty quickly, too, because everyone knew even if he was aggravating, he did posses remarkable speed. Ara, however, ended up on their team by default when she was the only one left, and although this didn't come as a surprise to Raven, she did feel a slight pang of empathy for the silent girl. _I know how that feels more than anyone else here_.

They were led down to the Danger Room and the teams grouped at two different sides. Each team had seven mutants, and Raven's included Scott, Toad, Ara, Brian, the freshman who was over six feet tall, and a set of twins known for their regenerative powers on others although they could not heal themselves. Even though there was no need for two healers, Scott's choosing them had left the other team without any at all, and Jason already seemed to realize this deficit as he barked out orders to his team in a cross voice.

Calmly, Scott explained to his own team, "There are several different scenarios that we might face, but all of them are filled with obstacles. While it will be difficult to move quickly, we can use rocks and holes as cover. Just make sure none of the soldiers are able to corner you."

Then he went on to explain the other team's powers. He ended with Jason, saying, "I know he can create illusions, and sometimes I worry about how stable that kid is. If he tries to cheat and uses a power against one of you to trip you up, I'll get the teacher to stop the program. Are we good?"

The team nodded. Grinning mischievously, Toad hissed to Raven, "Bet I'll kill more soldiers than you."

"Just you wait," Raven said under her breath.

"You don't know half of what I do."

Gritting her teeth, Raven said, "Do you practice in here on weekends?"

Toad made a face. "Of course not."

She grinned. "You've already lost."

"Yeah, well I don't _need_ to practice."

Before Raven could reply, the teacher blew a whistle and immediately the room shifted almost as if it possessed Raven's powers.

Snow began to fall, caves grew out of nothing, and the wind began to blow so loudly that it whistled in Raven's ears. As the blizzard's rage picked up further, she could barely see her teammates in front of her. Brian was easier to spot, though—his six feet, 230 pounds, and bright orange hair stuck out like a sore thumb in the whiteness.

Then an unseen enemy punched her in the side of the mouth. Thankfully the hit wasn't hard enough to injure anything, but Raven swore in pain and stumbled back a little. Shifting into Brian, she drew back and slammed the soldier's stomach with a huge fist.

When he doubled over, and Raven took the opportunity to rain more blows on him until he stumbled face-down on the snow. "Take that, stupid human," she muttered. At some point, he stopped struggling to get to his feet and merely lay there. Satisfied, she stood up and started to walk away, but suddenly a hand reached out and grasped her ankle. Yanked off balance, she crashed onto the snow as he dragged her towards him. She flailed wildly and kicked his arms away, but another soldier emerged out of the corner of her vision and ran towards her.

At that moment a black form appeared seemingly out of nowhere and tackled the soldier that had tried to run at her. A long tongue wrapped around the soldier's neck and Raven turned her attention back the soldier who had finally managed to pin her down, kicking him as hard as she could between the legs.

He groaned, and when he slumped into the snow, she grabbed his neck and twisted as hard as she could. With a scream cut short, he finally stopped breathing, though she checked his pulse just to make sure he wouldn't be getting up anytime soon.

_I need a better strategy next time,_ she decided. _He caught me off-guard, but that won't happen again_.

The blizzard wasn't quite so hard anymore, and between the many boulders blocking her path she could see Ara on the other side, facing three soldiers on her own with a terrified expression on her face. Transforming into Toad, Raven leapt over the rocks and landed on her feet with a gracefulness she'd never experienced before. Reaching the soldiers, she became Scott and blasted one of them. It was difficult to aim, though, and Ara had to duck to avoid being caught in the beams.

While she aimed again, one of them grabbed her neck from behind and slammed her head into a rock. The world spun around her for what seemed like years until without warning it began to steady itself, and Raven realized that one of the twins must be nearby. The soldier who had attacked her was nowhere to be seen by the time she could see properly again, and neither was Ara. The storm had thickened again, and though Raven could hear shouts and the clamor of battle in the distance, she could barely see a thing.

Just then she felt something hard poke her in the back. Crying out, she spun around with wide, frightened eyes.

They narrowed into slits when she saw Toad a few feet away, howling with laughter and tongue hanging out of his mouth like a dog. "You should see…the look on…on your face!" he exclaimed in-between breaths.

"This isn't a playground," the shapeshifter growled, balling her fists. "What if I'd attacked you?"

The very idea caused Toad to laugh even harder until he was coughing. "Somehow I think I'd survive."

Panting and tired already from the battle, she said, "Just shut up already and fight."

Suddenly Toad's smile faded and he steadied himself. "Look out!" he shouted, and leapt over Raven's head. She spun around, bracing herself for some terrible new enemy, but all she could see was the snow in front of her and Toad's fists flying at an incredible speed.

He was attacking the air.

"Toad?" Raven called his name in an attempt to get his attention, but he didn't show any signs that her shouts had reached his ears. "Toad!" Running up behind him, she grabbed his fists, forcing him to stay still. His eyes rolled wildly in his head and didn't seem to register the sight of her, only yanking frantically in an attempt to escape. "Get off me!" he shrieked, almost as if possessed. "Raven, where are you?"

And suddenly it wasn't Toad's hands that she kept at bay anymore; the hands were bigger, like Brian's, but more pale, the veins sticking out in a familiar way that caused her mouth to fill with bile.

Richard stood in front of her, infuriated and just barely kept at bay, and the snowy arena had faded from memory, melting into the harsher backdrop of her home. It was as if she had never escaped.

"Leave me alone!" Raven shifted into Brian, but her father was still bigger somehow. Somehow, he snapped her right arm like a twig, and she cried out in pain. Her voice was drowned out by his furious shouts and the sound of crashing furniture as she heard glass shatter around her.

Usually Richard would return to a state of semi-sobriety when his senses registered how injured his daughter was, but not this time.

Glass shards scraped her skin, but the pain was nothing compared to what she felt when Richard's fist connected with her jaw. Her mind whirling in confusion, she tasted the blood that filled her mouth and spit it in Richard's face just before crumpling on the floor.


	8. Recovery

**Chapter VIII**

"Raven? Are you awake?"

She blinked a few times, sat up, and rubbed her eyes. _Where'd he go?_ In front of her stood a woman she didn't know, and the room was blindingly white. The woman was dressed in white, a hospital uniform maybe, and that was when Raven felt her heart begin to beat faster. "What happened in the Danger Room?"

"Don't worry, you're alright," the woman said, placing a hand on Raven's shoulder. When Raven shrugged it off, the woman pretended not to notice. "One of the mutants, Jason Stryker, used his ability to create illusions in a terrible, tragic way yesterday against several of the students on your team, including you, Toad, and Scott Summers."

"What about Ara?" Observing the room, Raven saw the twin girls lying on beds as well, hooked up to monitors that beeped every now and again. _I guess he went after them too, that freak. What could they even to do him?_

The woman nodded, and Raven sighed. _She had to be terrified. I wonder if she screamed for help or just kept silent. _"Did you say yesterday? I've been asleep for a whole day?"

"Not quite asleep. When the hallucinations first began, the program you were fighting in was shut down immediately, but Jason's mental attacks were much more difficult to stop. We had to bring in the Professor, and even he...was not able to remove Jason's influence at once. Until then, we were forced to use a tranquilizer on you. I have to say, you put up a pretty good fight." In an attempt to lighten the mood, the woman smiled.

_That doesn't sound good._ "Did I hurt anyone?"

"Just whoever you thought you were fighting, I'm sure."

_If only._

"Now that you're awake, we can let you return to your room. And don't worry about Jason—he no longer attends this school, and he won't be hurting anyone else for a long time."

"Is Ara still here?"

"No, she awoke a few hours ago."

Without a word, Raven started making her way out of the medical center and down the hall. On the way, she passed several other students that she only knew by name, yet they all stopped walking and stared at her as she passed. _What did I do while I was hallucinating?_ she wondered. _And how did Jason know to make me fight Richard? Was he in my head like Xavier?_ And although she tried not to think about it, she couldn't help but wonder why the other students were staring at her. Some even whispered to one another as she walked past. It was only when she passed a mirror that she realized why.

The blue scales on her body were even more pronounced now, even darker than before. Some of those that stuck out more than others had broken through her clothing, leaving tiny holes. Her yellow eyes looked more like yellow slits, and her hair, which had been black before gaining an ever-so-slight red tint, had become a stark auburn.

_When will this stop? I can't turn into some kind of fish. _For a moment she considered turning around and heading back to the medical center to see if they could find out what was wrong with her, why it was happening, but she couldn't imagine what they could possible do to help. She had been planning to stop by Ara's room, but now all she wanted to do was return to her own. When she reached her room she sat on the bed and stared at her reflection in the mirror, trying to determine what had changed her.

_Well, yesterday I used my powers more than I have in so small a time…we were supposed to develop them, after all. Maybe I did it too well._

At that moment she heard a knock on her door, and she yelled, "Who is it?" When there was no reply but another knock, that was enough of an answer. "Come in."

Ara entered, and Raven gasped. Cuts and bruises covered the girl's body, although Raven didn't have a scratch on her from the previous day's events. "What happened to you?" she demanded. "How'd they even let you out of the med center?" As if knowing there was no way to explain without using words, Ara shrugged helplessly in an exaggerated motion in an effort to get that point across to Raven. "I don't get why you came here, then. I can't do anything if you just sit here." Immediately Raven felt bad for saying it, but it was true, and she was sick of Ara's stubborn silence.

With a sigh, Ara pointed to a notebook that Raven had lying on the edge of her nightstand. "Sure," said Raven, and handed it to Ara.

The pale mutant grabbed a pencil off the floor and wrote a single word: _Stryker_.

"Yeah, I know Jason probably had something to do with it, but I don't get where you got all these bruises from when none of the others got physically hurt."

Shaking her head, Ara wrote, _Not Jason. His father was the one who ran the island and ran experiments on mutants._

"So Professor X _allowed_ his son to come here knowing that the father was an enemy to mutants?"

_Professor Xavier prides himself on his compassion._ Ara rolled her eyes. _After all, Jason is a mutant, and no compassionate man would leave a mutant with William Stryker._

As Ara wrote slowly in the notebook, Raven became more and more aggravated. "Are you ever gonna tell me how you got injured?" she finally snapped.

Ara shot a glare at Raven before turning back to the notebook. _William gave me a few powers I wouldn't have otherwise, I admit, but William has connected me in some way to his son. Something in my head __gives Jason access__ lets Jason in my head even when he's not at the school. I guess he was taking out his anger on getting kicked out of the school after I was back in my room, because normally it is more mild._

For a moment Raven was unable to do anything but sit there and stare, stunned, at the notebook, rereading Ara's words. "You see hallucinations all the time?"

_Some days yes, some days not at all. When no one's around, of course. Jason isn't stupid. He can see through my eyes, he can read my thoughts_.

"But what does that have to do with you not talking?"

As if to show Raven that she didn't plan on answering the question anytime soon, Ara didn't even pick up the pencil again.

"Well, what do you want me to do? I'd say talk to Xavier if you're having problems with your mind, but you won't talk, and you hate Xavier."

_Doesn't everyone?_

"Of course not, most everyone here idolizes him. Me and Toad can't stand him, and I think he might've read my thoughts once, but. Dr. Lehnsherr is fine, but he's not a telepath; I don't know what he could do. And judging from Jason's strength, I doubt anyone else on faculty can help you."

Her jaw tightening, Ara wrote, _I hate Xavier._

"What'd he do to you?" demanded Raven.

_Won't let me leave. Says I'll "find a home here" in no time. And he let Jason come here after I warned him._ _I'm sure there are places in the world where Jason's powers can't reach—I don't care if I have to live underground—but I can't leave this school._

"You said William Stryker gave you more powers. I would assume that means you can do more than just hide yourself, so why don't you run away?"

_I can't control my powers yet. I don't even know what most of them are. Until they're developed, I'm stuck with Jason in my head. But then, that's another thing about X—he's afraid to let me "develop too quickly."_

Raven picked up her Judo book and flipped through the pages to find where she had left off. Absentmindedly she said, "Tell him _why_ you need to develop your powers. Show him the injuries."

_You don't think I've already tried __everything__? He says he's determined to help me. He said with Jason here, he could try to make him stop, and also work on breaking whatever it is tying me to him. But he's done neither, even though they're always running tests on me and I'm always in X's office. I tried to kill Jason to end it, but X won't let me._

"Now that Jason's gone, is it back to square one again? Since he's still just trying to find out what's wrong with you?"

Ara nodded and wrote, _I want you to convince Dr. Lehnsherr to let me go._

"Why would he listen to me? Just get kicked out."

_I've TRIED that. And Toad just laughed when I asked him to see Lehnsherr._

With a shrug, Raven picked up her book again. "I guess so. Maybe I'll talk to him, maybe I won't."

Ara tossed the pencil behind her before leaving the room. _How polite of her to put it back where she found it_, thought Raven.

The next day, a new student was introduced to Mutant High. Normally, that type of thing would have gone unnoticed to Raven, Toad, and Ara, but this student definitely stood out from the crowd.

As they ate their lunch, Toad poked Raven as hard as he could in the side. "Hey!" she muttered. "What was that for?"

He tilted his head towards the mutant approaching their table. "Look. That's the new guy."

The first thing Raven noticed about him was that his hair was a mess of thick multicolored feathers, almost like a feathery lion's mane. Raven couldn't help but roll her eyes at how ridiculous it looked. Most of the other students, especially the guys, were big and muscular from the training or from powers that enhanced their physical strength, but this kid was thin as a stick, and his short stature didn't help matters. To top it off, he wore thick, silver glasses and carried a violin case with him everywhere. All in all, while no one had any reason to dislike him, the students and even the teachers generally didn't know what to make of him.

_Naturally, he ends up at our table,_ Raven thought, and waited until he sat down to say, "Nice hair."

"Thank you so much," said the mutant, flashing a bright grin. "I was quite certain the girls would enjoy it."

Raven made a face at Toad, and in reply his tongue shot out and brushed the kid's hair in one smooth motion. When he politely asked what Toad was doing, Raven replied, "He likes to taste new people. Just in case."

"Ah, I see." The boy nodded as if he understood completely.

"What's your name, anyway?"

"My name is Michail Petrov, but I must insist that you call me Scherzo."

"So what do you do?" asked Toad, wiggling his eyebrows mischievously.

After unlocking the case, Scherzo pulled out a long, brown bow. "I have a natural intuition with any instrument, but I prefer the violin. It is most suited to my work."

"What kinda work?"

"Oh, you will find out soon enough. Unless you never do, that is. That would be quite a shame, for our paths to cross without your learning of the many uses for a violin."

Even Ara seemed annoyed by this "Scherzo", which was saying a lot considering she put up with Toad on a daily basis. Her eyes followed him carefully, and that was when he took notice of her, although he'd been sitting next to her the whole time. "Hmm, I believe I have heard of you. Would your name, by any chance, be 'Ara'?"

In reply, she shifted further away from him.

He tossed his head, which essentially tossed a mane of feathers—this time, Raven didn't bother to hold in a laugh. "You might wanna cut that. Mutant High may not have a dress code, but the colors in your hair could give someone a seizure."

Scherzo glared at her and said, "Forgive me, I had misjudged you as one to see true beauty. Clearly, I was mistaken."

_If I was X, I'd love to get my hands on this mind and see what's going on in there_, Raven thought. "I'll let it go this time, but don't let it happen again."

"Is this the type of maddening behavior I should expect from the rest of this school? I must say, it has failed to impress me so far."

"That's life for you," said Raven. "Has X read your mind yet? I'd love to know what he thinks of it."

With a snort, Scherzo replied, "My mind is far too precious for me to let anyone inside, where they could contaminate it. Much to his chagrin, I pleaded with him until he and Dr. Lehnsherr agreed to make an exception for me. For I believe the Professor Xavier has taken a liking to me—he realizes that I am highly cultured in the arts, as you have no doubt noticed."

Raven ignored that comment. "Pretty soon we'll all be exceptions. Toad and I didn't want him to either. As for Ara, he can't even get in."

"Surely you jest. From what I gathered, Professor Xavier is one of the most powerful mutants alive."

"You'll get used to Xavier's shortcomings the longer you're here."


	9. Pity and Respect

**Chapter IX**

The following morning, a certain Mutant Registration Act had made the news again. Students crowded around the television, as the faculty had postponed classes so that they, too, could hear the latest updates.

"I don't get it," Raven whispered to Toad, scanning her book as she half-listened to the voice on the news channel. "Everyone at home pretty much knows I'm a mutant, so what's the big deal if everyone has to just fill out a form or whatever?"

Flicking his tongue out, Toad knocked Raven's book out of her hands. She was so used to it by now that she barely noticed. "Maybe _your_ parents know, but most of the ones who send their kids here think it's just a school for smart kids or something. They're worried about what their parents will think, and if the school will be shut down. Mutants may not even be _allowed_ to go to school."

"If only."

Toad gritted his teeth and fixed his eyes on the television. "I say we blow all these humans to bits. We could do it, too."

Next up, a news reporter interviewed a pastor from a church in Georgia. "Reverend Nelson, your church was one of the first to ban mutants from its congregation. What was the general response from church members?"

With a smile, the pastor replied, "While we had a few members who refused to see the truth, ninety percent of the church agreed wholeheartedly with me."

"Can you tell us a little bit about your reason for banning mutants from your church?"

"Certainly." As the man began to give examples of how mutants were misusing their powers and believing themselves to be more powerful than God Himself, the kid holding the remote changed the channel.

"This just in, a mutant family in Ohio was murdered by a long-time neighbor. Timothy Galt, apparently a friend of confirmed mutant Jonathan Roberts for twelve year before realizing his friend was a mutant, actually _turned himself in _today—"

_Click_. "Stay tuned for an urgent message from Senator Robert Kelly on the danger that mutants pose in our schools—"

_Click_. "Tonight, a special on the alarming rise of hate crimes against mutants—"

Charles Xavier held out his hand and, when the student handed over the TV remote, powered down the television. "I see no reason why we cannot continue classes as scheduled today," he said. "Obviously, this news is quite upsetting, but I assure you that you have nothing to fear. I will speak to the president himself if I have to before allowing a single one of your lives to be endangered."

As the students were led back to class, Raven noticed Toad muttering under his breath, "…not doing anything about it. Says we'll be safe here, but all he does is sit in his office all day. He can't help us from there."

"Where's Dr. Lehnsherr?" Raven asked. "I haven't seen him all day, not even with the Professor."

"He was up early this morning arguing with X. They didn't know I was there. Lehnsherr was real mad, kept bending stuff and putting it back in place."

"They've been arguing a lot lately."

"Ya think? Lehnsherr actually wants to do something about it, and Xavier doesn't like that. You'd think a Class Four like him wouldn't be scared!"

Raven nodded in agreement as she slid into her desk. In the few moments she had before the teacher began lecturing, she asked, "What does Lehnsherr want to do?"

"Wants to form a group to fight back against the humans. Xavier said he had a different idea in mind—the X-Men, he called it."

Rolling her eyes, Raven said, "You've got to be kidding me."

"Lehnsherr said Xavier is too focused on protecting humans against rogue mutants. Lehnsherr wants a group that'll protect mutants against rogue humans."

As the teacher began to speak, signaling for the students to quiet down, Raven didn't hear a word she said. Staring at the chalkboard without seeing anything, she mulled over Toad's words: _Lehnsherr wants a group to fight back. A group to fight back…protect mutants against rogue humans like Timothy Galt, who killed a whole family, and the pastor who won't even let mutants in his church. And humans like Richard, who beat up their own kids. Well, I've trained for weeks—I can take any human and I bet I could take on any of these kids. If Dr. Lehnsherr's serious, I'd join him any day of the week over this school, where I sit here helplessly learning physics!_

Over the next few days, Raven grew increasingly restless, either constantly tapping her fingers nervously on her desk in a desperate rhythm or daydreaming of the day that mutants like her could attend normal high schools instead of holed-up boarding schools in the Northeast. And she wasn't the only one getting restless, though Toad had a different way of expressing it.

At some point during the middle of one sleepless night, she heard an eerie laughter echoing from somewhere down the long hallways. When she followed the sound into the living room, she saw Toad spread out on the couch, hugging a bowl of popcorn greedily to his chest and stuffing his face as some horror movie played on the TV. He didn't notice her approaching, and only drank in the violence from the muted television with wide, excited eyes.

_It's not even worth the effort it would take to convince him to stop_, Raven thought. _I'm going back to bed_.

But even while those words ran through her head, she couldn't help but gaze in shock as a man slapped a child around, the little girl bumping into furniture and a mother's mouth open in a muted protest. The camera was shaky so that it was hard to see what was going on, but the details didn't matter. Shots were fired at some point, and there was blood; everything was a blur to Raven, who felt bile rise in her throat the more she watched.

Just as she forced herself to tear her eyes away from the mesmerizing television and began to walk away, she heard the soft sound of footsteps in the distance. Frightened that one of the faculty had heard Toad's disgusting laughter, she quickly morphed into Jean Gray, one of the students at the mansion that was fairly easy to imitate, and continued walking.

That was when the impossibly-calm voice asked, "Just what is going on here?"

Cursing inwardly for allowing the professor to walk in at a time like that, she stopped in her tracks and faced the professor. It was the first time she had seen him in anything but a suit; rather, he wore a gray robe and looked far more tired than Raven had ever seen him before, eyes sunken and hollow.

The voice of Jean said, "I was just going to tell Toad that he should be in bed."

His jaw tightened and he snapped, "Raven, I would have hoped that in your time here you would have learned not to try and deceive me."

Stunned at his unusually angry tone, Raven could only stand there and melt back into herself, speechless. _Any minute now he'll snap and use his powers on me._

By this time, Toad had flicked off the TV and jumped up from the couch. "Sorry, Professor." Raven couldn't tell if he was being sincere or sarcastic.

"It is rare that a night goes by without one of the students experiencing the inability to sleep. Consider your infraction minor, Toad."

Toad nodded and ducked out of the room as fast as he could, leaving Raven alone with the professor. _I'm dead. He'll kill me for lying to him._

He clearly sensed the fear she was broadcasting, because his eyes softened and his usual calm returned as he said, "Apparently this isn't the first time you have wandered around in the middle of the night. Erik mentioned that you didn't seem to be feeling well, and indeed you almost look ill. Now I realize that for all your troublemaking, you simply may not have been thinking clearly from the lack of sleep. Exhaustion is an explanation for your clouded judgment that should have occurred to me earlier."

_Come on, anyone else would be furious and it's not like you can't hurt me. Get the punishment over with!_

"It is not uncommon for my students to ask that I use my abilities as a telepath to aid their sleeping. If you ever wish for me to do the same for you, all you need do is ask."

_What the hell is your problem? _Raven forced her fists to stay unclenched at her side. _Get mad like a normal person, X._

"Raven, you're broadcasting extreme amounts of anger. Please, tell me what is the matter and I will do my best to help you."

The tired eyes, the tight jaw had melted into an emotion Raven couldn't quite put a finger on. When she searched his eyes for the telltale signs of irritation, anger, fury, she found none. _Shut up! Shut the fuck up and do what you want to do! At least kick me out of here if you're not going to hurt me._

Her mind too confused to think of anything else but her desire to _get out of there_, she could only stammer out the words, "I-I just want to go back to my room."

"Of course, Raven. You're free to leave. But," and he looked her levelly in the eye before continuing, "you must not lie to me again. While I realize you are not in the right state of mind, that is still no excuse. I will speak to Dr. Lehnsherr about what has transpired tonight."

Without a word, Raven walked away as slowly as she could, but once she had turned a corner, she broke into a run. _I liked it better when Lehnsherr was yelling at me, _she thought after climbing back in bed. _He's weird too, but at least he's not insane. I mean, if it had been Lehnsherr who had found us, he's have given me a lot more than a "how can I help you." And Toad, he'd choke me with his tongue or something. Richard—_she shuddered and shook her head in an effort to force herself to concentrate on the professor. _Anyway, Xavier's crazier than the rest of them. Toad's stupid as shit but he was smart to run off when he did._

Unable to sleep (something that was not altogether new to her), she experimented with different body forms. She found that while Toad was easy to mimic, and Xavier, too, some people were much harder. Something about Ara was elusive, or too vague; whatever it was, she couldn't seem to nail the form. But after she had morphed enough times, she became so drained of energy that sleep came far more easily.

_If there's one good thing about this power_, she thought as she slipped away into darkness, _it's that it works better than any sleeping pill._

The next day, she heading to breakfast with Ara at her side when Toad met up with her and said, "You know you're screwed, right?"

Raven crossed her arms. "It's your fault and you just love that, don't you."

"Why, of course." He threw back his head and laughed.

Not waiting for him to finish, Raven ignored him and walked off towards a table. Ara looked at her with wide, questioning eyes, and outspread palms that were clearly a request for an explanation, but Raven wasn't interested. Determined not to give Toad the satisfaction of hearing how Raven had been busted because of something he did, she shook her head and ate in silence.

"Come on, ain't you gonna fill her in on the fun we had last night? The best part about this school is getting—"

"Shut up," Raven growled, glaring at him.

"My my, we _are_ pissy this morning." Although he kept his tone casual, the narrowed eyes gave away that he was more upset than he let on.

With a sigh, she said, "I didn't care about getting caught. They can kick me out if they want. But Xavier's more fucked up than the rest of us. It's like he's determined to freak me out."

Confused, Toad said, "I don't get it. It's a lot better than getting caught by Lehnsherr—it's fun to make him swear and see him all red in the face—but he could snap me like a twig if he wanted to. He would do it, too. Xavier wouldn't hurt a fly."

"Exactly." Toad glanced at her and seemed to want her to elaborate, but she was done with the conversation. "What's up with the Mutant Registration Act? They couldn't stop talking about it in class and now no one will mention it."

Toad shrugged. "Ask Scherzo, if you can stomach having to talk to him. He knows everything."

_And if he doesn't, he'll make up an answer,_ Raven thought. "Where is he, anyway? I haven't seen him in a few days, not that I'm heartbroken."

"Hell if I know, but I ain't been so happy in years."

Just as Raven opened her mouth to agree, a blue mutant that Raven didn't recognize approached the table and said, "Dr. Lehnsherr wants to see you."

When Raven ignored him and continued talking with Toad, the mutant grabbed her arm and said, "Now."

Furious, Raven shifted into a grown man and yanked her arm away; she wasn't sure she would be strong enough to escape the grasp of the large mutant if she didn't transform. Quickly shifting back into her natural form before any other mutants could take notice, she insisted, "I'm coming!"

The blue mutant said nothing and walked away. Raven did the same, heading up to Erik's office with a growing uncertainness in her stomach. What could she expect from him? Maybe he would set things right and punish her, finally…_or maybe I'm just in for another talking-to and probation, if he's really mad. Even then, that lecture for cheating was way better than last night._

_Xavier treated me like an object of pity, but Dr. Lehnsherr treated me like I was someone he'd _respected_, before they made a mistake. He acted like it wasn't completely unthinkable that I would someday get that respect back._

_Pity and respect—I don't get much of those. I'd rather die than earn someone's pity, but respect, I'd do anything for more of that._

She could only hope that Dr. Lehnsherr wouldn't be so angry that he wouldn't give her another chance at it.


	10. “Why did you flinch?”

**Chapter X**

"Enter."

_I wish I were a telepath right now so I could tell how mad he is, _Raven thought, stepping hesitantly into the office.

"Shut the door, sit down," he said in a bored voice.

After obeying, she immediately felt small when he stood up from his desk, towering over her where she sat.

"Do you know why Charles asked me to see you, when it was he that you wronged?"

She shook her head.

"Because after we spoke last time, we noted that you have not tried to steal another's work since then. Charles believes that you 'respond well' to my techniques, because although he tries to understand what it is that I do differently, he cannot."

When a minute passed and Raven didn't respond, Erik lost his patience and snapped, "Are you going to sit there like a dumb animal? Perhaps I was wrong about you."

"What do you mean?" Raven dared to ask.

"Charles is afraid that this school is doing you more harm than good. After all, you're hardly sleeping. He can gently correct a troublemaker, but once he believes the school itself may damage you, that is when he decides to send a student home. But I convinced him that you must stay here and develop your powers, lest all your potential go to waste." Erik scoffed. "Now I almost regret that I bothered to change his mind."

His words infuriating Raven, she stood up and said, "You keep insisting that I have all this potential, but all I can do is change this disgusting blue shape into something as close to normal as it'll get. Or change my voice so I don't sound like—"

Suddenly she broke off stunned into silence as Erik's fingers connected with her shoulder. Her muscles tensed at once. Barely noticing that she had stopped speaking, he murmured, "Disgusting? I should think not. You are beautiful beyond words."

She stared at his leathery hand, which rested there for a moment before sliding down her arm and returning to his side. Even then, her eyes followed his moves carefully, and her mind, which had raced with thoughts when she had first arrived at his office, had frozen in shock.

But a thought slowly occurred to her—as far as Raven could tell, _respect_ no longer described the way he looked at her. The only way she could find to describe it was to use the word _enthralled_. While that was almost as frightening as Xavier's implacable calm, it was frightening in a different way. _A better way._

"What was that for?" she finally demanded.

Rather than answering, he said, "Why did you flinch?"

_So he noticed. _"Older men don't usually touch me and call me beautiful."

"I can't imagine why not," he replied, not missing a beat.

_He's not even embarrassed_. "What does this have to do with last night?"

He blinked and his whole mood changed, as though he had suddenly been awakened from a dream. "If you continue to show me that you'd rather waste your time on petty games and troublemaking than embracing your abilities, there is no reason for you to stay here—or to exist, for that matter. This school, as flawed as it is, remains your last chance, and it seems that you have chosen to waste it."

_So does he want me to beg for another shot or am I supposed to act tough? What does he even want from me?_ She asked the question that had been burning in her mind - "Why should you care what I do with any of this 'potential'?"

"Why should I care? Because you are a mutant, and any mutant is a concern of mine. The ones that stand out, even more so. There is a strange...Raven about you, something that Charles can't put a finger on—you aren't like the others. That is why I 'care' enough to study you."

"I suppose not many of us are doomed to hang out with Toad, if that's what you mean."

Erik laughed, a strange sound that caught Raven off guard. _I can't picture that happening often._ "Toad is an imbecile; while he isn't without his uses, you are different. Toad is simple, and his life's goal is nothing more than to irritate others as best he can. As you can imagine, this is something he excels at. But even Charles cannot discern just what _your_ goal is. What are you here for? What do you hope to accomplish?"

_Goal? Accomplish?_ Eyes narrowed in confusion, she said, "What do you mean?"

"Scott Summers wants all mutants to gain acceptance in society, as does Charles. I can't say I'd mind seeing mutants in charge of society. To put it in simpler terms, why do you get out of bed every day?"

"When I find out, you'll be the first to know."

"Hmm." Erik paused for awhile. Finally he said, "You have one more chance to show me you're useful." Leaning forward and looking her straight in the eye, he muttered, "Don't disappoint me."

_Geez, way to pile on the melodrama. _She didn't dare ask what would happen if she did; from what Toad had said and from what she had seen, he wasn't one to make empty threats, but the last thing she wanted to do was to learn that firsthand. "Sure."

"And on your way to class, tell the one who calls himself 'Scherzo' to go see Charles. Since you don't like him in your head, the professor has requested that I ask you to care of that."

"What'd he do?"

Sitting back in his chair, Erik said, "You ask too many questions."

"I'll get him, then," Raven said, and left the office—it was then that she let out a sigh of relief and wondered how long it had been since she'd last breathed. Her shoulder and arm still tingled—physical touch was not something she was accustomed to, especially not after her "illnesses" and yellow eyes were noticed more. _Even Mom never hugs me or anything embarrassing like that, thank God. I would've died._ As for Richard, his touch was associated with pain and anger. _And other than them, that just leaves Troy, who wanted to laugh at my eyes. Hardly the same thing_.

_The people in charge of this school get stranger every day_.

When she slid into her desk in class, the other students gave her a good long stare before the teacher rapped the desk to regain their attention. _Nothing to see here_. She poked Scherzo, who unfortunately sat in front of her, and whispered, "X wants to see you."

Tight-lipped, Scherzo replied, "Joy."

"I can't help but think that was sarcasm."

Scherzo rolled his eyes and told the teacher that Xavier wanted to see him. Being a telepath, she closed her eyes for a moment, and then said, "You may go."

The musician stomped out of the classroom. _What's eating him? Maybe Toad found out by now. Or I could just ask later_.

As she sat in class, she reflected on her conversation with Dr. Lehnsherr. _So he's obviously noticed I'm different, not something too difficult for anybody, but I wonder where he gets his "potential" speeches from. I almost believed him, too. But if I do have all this power just waiting to be tapped into, I'm not going to find it at this school, where we can't even fight in the Danger Room anymore 'cause of Jason._ _I've got to get out of here._

_After all, it won't be that hard to make money with a power like this, just as long as I don't screw up. If worse comes to worse, I can become so beautiful that any guy will take me in. Here, I'm not even supposed to shift "because it's a form of deception," and I'm not gonna get stronger that way. I'll grow so much faster if I'm using my powers all day_.

Raven nodded, a small move that went unnoticed by the rest of the class except Toad. He looked at her strangely, obviously wondering what kind of daydream she was having, but she didn't look at him. The more she thought about it, the more obvious it seemed. _I don't even care about the mystery behind Ara. And it's not like Toad or Scherzo care if I'm around or not._

_I'm getting out of here as soon as possible. If Dr. Lehnsherr really knows what he's talking about, he'll realize it's the best decision I could make_.

At the end of the day, Scherzo obviously noticed that there was something different about Raven, because he said, "I must say, you seem to be in a better mood tonight than I have ever observed you in."

Before Raven could reply, Toad said, "Yeah, she hardly saw you all day." Scherzo shot a glare in his direction.

"I'm leaving," Raven answered simply. "Tell whoever you want. They won't stop me."

Ara stared at Raven with wide eyes. Toad demanded, "Just where do you think you're gonna go? _Home_?"

"I already have money. And I'll find a job."

Laughing, Toad said, "You'll find a job? You're what, thirteen? Who's gonna hire you?"

"I turned fifteen last week. Besides, I don't have to _be_ eighteen to look it. And all I have to do is steal someone's ID, which can't be that hard with my combat skills, and impersonate them."

"Yeah right. You'll be crawlin' back here in a week," Toad insisted.

With a smile, Raven said, "Wait and see if you're so sure."

"You're making this 'plan' up off the top of your head."

"So?"

"It'll never work."

"You're just afraid you'd miss me."

Toad laughed again, the sound grating on Raven's nerves. _I don't think so_. "Hardly."

Studying his lacquered blue nails, Scherzo said, "If I were to leave this mansion, I would make a fortune with my musical talents. Perhaps one day we will meet again and compare our earnings?"

Raven rolled her eyes. "I can only hope."


	11. Running Away

**Chapter XI**

Now that Raven knew the layout of the mansion, had it engrained in her memory after her less-than-a-year stay at the school, she recognized that escape would hardly be difficult. Unlocked doors even at night were common; after all, any intruders would be incapacitated within seconds if they posed a serious threat, and Xavier would probably sense it anyway._ I can only hope he doesn't notice me leaving. But it's not like he's got a psychic fence around this hellhole._

Maybe it wasn't quite a hellhole, but Raven figured that if she kept repeating that to herself enough times, she might believe it. Really, she didn't think she belonged there at all, and the mutants were even stranger than her family. Returning to the world of boring, prejudiced humans would mean back to semi-normalcy, where she was hated, and where she was used to dealing with it. It would mean no more silly rules, spying telepaths, or bizarre professors. _And now that I can control my powers, I'll never be caught accidently. Just as long as I don't fall asleep around anyone else, things will only get better from here on out._

The hardest part was figuring out where exactly to go. All she knew was where she _didn't_ want to be—Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters—but the rest of the world was fair game.

Training at the mansion had strengthened her body to the point where superhuman speed and stamina aided her trek away from the school that night. Before long, she saw it becoming more and more clear that New York did not rest even when the rest of the world did. In what would have been the dead of night there were still taxis to be found, and people scattered along the streets, nothing like back home.

The first thing she wanted to do was to steal someone's ID. And, preferably, their cash too. Still in the form of Troy, she perused an alley, somewhere, she wasn't sure where. _How does one plan to rob someone? Am I just gonna run into someone stupid enough to walk an alley in New York at night? I could always rob some gas station, steal the money in the cash register, but don't those places have cameras? Masquerading as a human is nice, but.…_ The thought of actually robbing a place with all these flashing lights and roaring cars around her was too foreign.

With a sigh, she muttered, "That would take all the fun out of shifting anyway," in hopes that she would convince herself that it certainly wasn't _fear_ holding her back, or a cowardly desire to rob people in the shadows, where they might not be found at for awhile.

At any rate, it was too late to go back to the school, and she didn't want to spend all night searching and then being exhausted and poor in the morning. She did have a couple hundred dollars in her purse that her mother had sent her off with just in case, but it wasn't enough to last her any reasonable amount of time. The Darkholme family didn't have much to spare. Slipping into the form of a nondescript young woman, she started to retrace her steps. There had to be enough homeless people that she would fit right in and find a place to rest among them, she had even glimpsed a shelter—

"Where'd _she_ come from?" shouted a rough male voice.

"Yeah, who'd be stupid enough to come out here alone at night?"

One of the men stepped out of the shadows in front of her just as a hand clamped over her mouth.

Her blood froze as a mixture of terror and rage gripped her heart with an iron fist, squeezing mercilessly. A tremble started in her toes and raced up her spine.

"She's shakin'!" mocked the one who stood in front of her. "Poor thing. Maybe she needs a little—"

Interrupting him, Raven jabbed the guy holding her mouth with her elbow, the strongest point on her body from what she had learned at the mansion. He groaned at the impact, and the other guy reached for a gun. But in a blur of speed, she jumped and kicked him in the face, sending him reeling into a wall.

The one that she had hit in the stomach was beginning to recover, so she grabbed him by the neck and smashed his head against the wall; it was the first thing that came to her racing mind. While he was stunned, she ran over to the one who had tried to reach for a gun and seized his neck as well, but this time she didn't let go. Though he struggled, his strength was nowhere near hers, after months of training and building her already-superior abilities.

As he gasped for air, he choked out, "What _are_ you?"

She didn't want to give him her real name. Besides, Raven would never have had the guts to even be out here. Instead, she whispered, "Mystique."

When he was weak enough so that his struggling was barely noticeable, she took his gun and shot him. By the time she had stood up and was ready to take on the other man, he had obviously fled.

_Well, I won't be taking _his_ money. _But the dead man was fair game. Raiding his pockets, she found more weed than she'd ever thought could be stuffed into the billfold, and although she briefly considered selling it, that was one game she wasn't ready to get into just yet. _Too bad I have no clue where to sell this kind of thing. At least he's got some cash on him, even though he's got to be worth twice as much in drugs. _She stuffed her pockets with a couple of fifties, his ID, and didn't bother taking the gun. _I don't need that, and I can't afford to get caught with it._

When she was on the main streets again, she thought about buying a hotel, but it was already way into the early morning hours. Besides, a room would use up most, if not all, of her cash. And, seeing the amount of other people who obviously shared the same problem, she would hardly be alone. _I don't even need to get any of that rough newspaper,_ she thought, ducking away from the people to transform her clothes into heavy blankets.

She didn't expect, however, for the dreams to be so terrible.

Someone grabbed her by the arm, forcing her to follow as though she was a little girl holding Alexis' hand, immediately she tried to shift, but nothing happened. Everything moved so quickly that it was blurry; she had to run to keep up with the man, who was yanking her down a hallway, they kept walking until her feet hurt, and right when she was about to drop, she noticed that her body was blue and scaly, whoever this man was, he had to know she was a mutant. Then the hallway ended, why there was a shovel leaning against the wooden wall she didn't know yet, her heart thumped with fear for the first time in ages, after all, usually she was able to shift out of any situation, the returning feeling was not welcome. There was a hole at the end, there the man stopped following her and shoved her down, with a thump she hit the ground and the walls were no longer wooden but dirt that was just as hard.

Slamming her fists into it in futile protest, she yelled a curse up at the man, who didn't seem to hear, he only took the tool and shoveled up dirt, throwing it into the hole, and this time he was the one who shifted, his face morphing into that of Richard's, and he spat down at her. "I'm sick of letting you out and having to put you right back in. This time, you stay inside."

She clawed at the dirt, more fell on her, and Raven cried out, a barely recognizable sound, far too weak to be coming from _her_ mouth.

Raven awoke to the sound of her own scream, and cut off at once. In case anyone heard, she quickly morphed into the form of Troy, stood up, and walked away as if she hadn't even heard it. Another advantage with shifting, she realized, was the fact that she would never have to bathe. The sweat that covered her after the nightmare vanished when she transformed.

The previous night's rush had made her feel so alive, so frightening; then she had awakened huddling against the side of a building. _Sure, I wouldn't have had the courage to really attack anyone just a couple months ago. But I've got a long way to go._

Soon she realized that the transformation hadn't really been necessary—the constant chatter, yelling, and honking could cover up nearly any noise, even a scream. And from the looks of the shoppers and businesspeople, all determined to reach their destination as quickly as possible, they wouldn't have bothered to stop and investigate anyway.

_So…where to now?_

Her growling stomach directed her to the nearest McDonald's._ I can't afford to be picky. Besides, the noise out here is gonna drive me crazy if I'm outside much longer. And I was practically raised on fast food._

However, when she entered, there was immediately a problem. Every seat was taken, and the lines nearly stretched to the door. This was something she'd never had to deal with back at home, in a nameless town with a tiny population, _but it's not like I have anywhere better to be. At least I'm not desperate to get out of here like most of these people. The hardest part will be finding a place to sit._ The thought of eating outside in the harsh wind made her shiver. An idea suddenly occurring to her, she ducked into the bathroom and, when a stall was finally free, entered and shifted into the most beautiful form she could think of.

Curly blond hair, tan skin, a slender but curvy frame, somewhat based off Brianna but not completely just in case anybody here somehow knew her.

When she emerged, all that was left to do was wait in line. What seemed like hours later, she got her food, an Egg McMuffin, and looked around for a seat. Still no empty spots, but the twenty-something guy in the corner wasn't with anyone, and she had a feeling he wouldn't mind letting her share his booth.

She approached the table and asked, "Is it okay if I sit here? Normally I wouldn't ask, but it's just so crowded…."

For a moment he just stared at her, as if not believing his luck. "_Sure_," he finally said, and made room for her.

Sitting down next to him, she flashed him the brightest smile she could muster. "Thanks so much, I really didn't want to eat outside."

"I—I can understand that," he said, his mouth full of a breakfast burrito.

She resisted the urge to point that out and said, "So what do you do around here?"

"Westchester Community College. I'm going for my associate in arts. Parents aren't thrilled, but whatever. They don't understand art at all."

_He can't have much spare cash, then, but that doesn't mean he's completely useless._ Feigning interest, she said, "Wow, that's really cool. I love art. What kind do you do?"

"I'm really interested in photomanips. I have to do one for class, but I haven't started yet. Basically I need to take photos first, but it's hard finding the perfect model."

"Perfect, huh?" Resting her head on her left hand, she gazed at him with sparkling green eyes and said, "I've never met any girl who was perfect."

As if unable to look away, he stared into her eyes and said, "You're damn close. Do you even wear makeup?"

She laughed and returned to her meal. "Makeup's silly, and it feels gross if you wear it all day. Most people don't believe that I don't wear any, but I'd be happy to prove it."

"Are you some kind of actress going around in disguise?"

Grinning, she said, "Of course not. I'm Raven. And your name?"

"Raven? What an odd name. Not that there's anything wrong with it, of course. Different is good. I mean—never mind. I-I'm Damian."

At that moment a baby started wailing, and Raven turned her head to see where it was coming from. When she looked back, she saw that the boy hadn't taken his eyes off her, as if he didn't hear the noise around them. It took all the effort she could muster to keep herself from shuddering—something seemed inherently wrong about it, about the way his eyes rested unabashedly on her chest and the way they drank her in, even though she knew full well that she had asked for it by morphing into such a form. _Damn you for being so stupid. If people think you're an adult, that's how they're going to treat you, and you'd better remember that._

"How old are you, anyway? Do you go to college?"

"Twenty-one. And no, I don't think college is really for me. I do wish I could find a job someplace, though."

Face slightly red, he leaned in closely as if sharing a secret and asked, "W-would you like t-t-to model for me?"

"How nice of you to ask. I'd love to, just as long as I get some kind of payment. Money has been hard to come by lately."

Stunned, his jaw dropped. "Are you kidding? Sure! As soon as you can start, I'm ready!"

"Perfect, just tell me when to show up and where, and I'll be there."

"Well I-I don't have any classes today. My studio's at my house. I can drive you there after we finish. Might as well start right away, right?"


	12. Vince

**Chapter 12**

_What I really need more than anything is a decent ID_. Judging from the man she'd robbed, his identity wasn't exactly desirable, and the last thing she needed was members of some gang contacting her, if he had indeed been a part of one. And she certainly didn't need people coming after her for his weed.

"So what music do you like? I'll put the radio on whatever you want."

Music reminded her of Scherzo, and she wrinkled her nose in disgust, looking out the window so Damien wouldn't see her strange response. "Uh, anything really, I don't have money to buy much though."

"You mentioned before that you don't have a lot of money, and you're jobless. How is that possible? I bet you could get a job at a strip club in, like, five seconds." He turned the radio on some rap station, and Raven regretted letting him choose.

She glared at him. "I'm not that desperate."

"Where do you live, anyway?"

"I ran away from…home, recently. So, if you must know, I've been on the streets." _Don't you need to focus on driving instead of getting my life story?_

He nodded. "Gotcha. Some of my buddies are dealing with that. I heard it can be tough."

_Is he serious? He "heard it can be tough"? And I haven't been homeless for long at all. _"Yeah, it's not great, but if I wasn't so desperate to get off the streets and eat inside, I never would have met you!" She smiled from ear to ear again, an awkward movement that she wasn't used to, and he almost missed a red light when he didn't take his eyes off her in time. "So what exactly will I be doing?"

"Well, it has to be 'emotive.' The image has to evoke some kind of emotion from anyone who looks at it—namely, the professors. It doesn't really matter what the setting is just yet, though. I just take a bunch of pictures of you in different poses and Photoshop the background in later."

"How long will it take?"

With a shrug, he replied, "Until we're done."

When they pulled in the driveway of his house, Raven couldn't help but gape at his house. The ornate architecture took her breath away, and it was larger than any house she'd ever seen before. Technically the school had been a mansion, but it had never really felt like a _house_ since there were so many kids there, but this kid said he only had one brother. _Four people need this much room?_

"You coming in?" said Damien impatiently, and gestured for her to follow him.

Although Damien's appearance was nothing special, with thick brown glasses, slicked-back hair, and far too much cologne, his brother was tall, muscular, and his shoulder-length hair was a sandy blonde color. Raven smiled to herself when she saw him blink at her in surprise, and she imagined his eyes on her back as she strode into the house. "What's his name?" she asked, following him through more twists and turns than she realized could belong in one house.

"Vince. Don't bother with him. He's a jerk."

Intrigued, Raven raised an eyebrow but didn't reply. The "studio" turned out to be more than she had expected from a college student. Everything one would see in a normal photography studio was set up and functioning, plus the framed photo-manipulations adoring the wall looked to be of professional quality. "Did you make these?"

Damien snorted. "Not in a million years. Vince did those. He's been at it a lot longer than me. That's why my parents don't like me in the field; they don't realize I'm not as good as Vince just 'cause I don't have experience. Um—you can take off your clothes now."

"_What_?"

He sighed heavily, clearly exasperated. "I'll call the school if you want to hear them say this is a real assignment, and I'm really a student there."

"It's fine, I just don't understand why I need to undress for this."

"There's only one emotion I know how to get out of my teachers, and I can't get that if you're dressed. Besides, more than ninety percent of all art in any museum around here is full of naked women."

_I don't know much about photography, I'll admit that, but this idiot has the dumbest reasoning I've ever heard. He's lucky I came along; I'll be the only model he ever gets in here. I wonder if I can get a shot with this "Vince" later._ "Fine. I better get paid well for this. In cash, right?"

As she pulled her shirt above her head, Damien nodded eagerly before realizing she couldn't see him. "Oh, yeah! Anything."

She rolled her eyes. _Disgusting. I'd demand more, but I'm almost feeling sorry for this loser._

The "photo shoot" was pretty boring, considering it was just one guy in a small, albeit decked-out, studio. Some of the poses he asked for were fairly difficult to achieve, and she was thankful for her limber body, and all the training that allowed her to stretch in almost any way she wanted.

Shot after shot was taken; it seemed to go on for hours. "Great job. One more. Hold it just like that. Now another."

"Does Vince need any work done for him?" she asked at one point. "This is pretty fun, and I'd like to continue when we're finished."

Damien wrinkled his nose, a movement that Raven had been fighting since the moment she'd smelled his cologne. "Nah, he'll be fine. Don't worry about Vince."

"If you're sure," Raven said. _Then I'll ask him myself_. From the looks of Vince, he was far more useful than his idiot brother.

By the time Damien decided that he had enough shots, Raven's muscles ached with the strain of so many awkward positions held over long periods of time. The last thing she wanted was to pose for Vince. But the sun had gone down, and there was something far more important pressing on her mind.

"There's got to be some kind of guest bedroom here, am I right?"

"Sure. You need a place to crash?"

She nodded. "It's too late to take me back where you found me, anyway."

Suddenly her stomach growled insistently, and her face flushed with embarrassment. "Hey, you haven't eaten since breakfast!" exclaimed Damien. "Eat dinner with us, I insist."

_He may be an idiot, but he's a paying idiot, and now he's feeding me. This deal's looking up. _"You have no idea how happy that makes me."

Damien's mother was home at this point, and he introduced Raven to her as "the girl I took pictures of upstairs." From her wide-open mouth, her shock was just as evident as Vince's, that Damien had achieved such a feat.

"Well, you seem like a nice girl," she said, as Raven rushed spoonful after spoonful of mashed potatoes into her mouth with an urgency as if she hadn't eaten in days. "Where do you live?"

"Wherever I can sleep," Raven replied, daring the mother with her eyes to ask any more questions.

Needless to say, Damien's mother left the talking to Vince at that point. "Why don't you work at a club or something?"

His voice was rich and smooth, unlike Damien's, which stumbled and struggled to get out every syllable. "There are levels even I won't stoop to," she said. _Or at least I like to tell other people that. I just haven't been desperate enough yet._

"Ah, a homeless girl with morals. How interesting."

Raven decided she didn't like his condescending tone. _It's not impossible for someone to have morals just because they don't have money. I suppose you're the epitome of morality, then? You and your brother?_

"No need to get mad," Vince continued, seeing her tightened jaw. "I think it's great. More people need to realize that just because they're down on their luck doesn't mean things like honesty and integrity have to go the wolves, you know?"

"No, I don't know. I just know I don't want to make a living by selling myself."

"That works too," Damien interrupted, and Raven glared at him.

"My brother's lucky to have found you. I bet you did great work for him."

Raven shrugged. "I can only hope."

As they ate, Raven didn't care how if she looked like a pig or not, since this could be her last real meal for awhile. No one mentioned it when she got up for seconds, either. But it was hard to enjoy the meal with Vince not letting up with the questions—_How did I end up on the streets? Hardly any of his business_. _Is everyone in this family socially impaired?_ Forcing a smile, she answered anything he asked, and focused on his clear blue eyes to calm herself.

When everyone was finished eating, Raven wondered what to do next as she piled dishes in the sink and washed them in an effort to thank their mother for letting her stay. _Too early to sleep, but I can't exactly wander around the house looking for something to do._

Thankfully, Vince took care of that problem for her when he emerged from his room to ask if Raven wanted to play a video game. She didn't quite know what he was talking about, but she followed him into his room, where some kind of machine was hooked up to a television. "What is that?"

He laughed and tossed a strangely-shaped machine that she could hold in her hand at her. She caught it and turned it over in her hands as he explained, "It's a controller. How do you not know what this is? Everyone has them."

When she glared at him, he grinned impishly and said, "Oh, right."

Resisting the urge to slap him in the face, she sat on the bed and watched the television screen light up with the words _EA Sports_ as a strange voice spoke.

"I don't get this," she said uncertainly, staring at the controller in her hands. "What do I do?"

"Nothing yet. Let me pick your team." She handed him the controller as he clicked a few things. From what Raven saw, the game revolved around football, and she was about to play against Vince.

"You know I'm gonna lose, I don't even know how to play. I don't even know how to play _real_ football!"

Rolling his eyes, he said, "What do you want to do, then?"

"I don't know, how many things can we do in this house? Do you have a basketball goal or something?"

He leaned closer to her. Eyes fixed on hers, he said, "There's plenty to do. We could do something right here."

All the blood rushed to her face, which she was sure had turned red. "I don't—"

"Has anyone ever told you how beautiful you are?"

_One person. But I'm not telling him that the only person who thinks I'm attractive is some ancient professor._ "All the time."

He placed his hand just above her shoulder, as if he wanted to touch it, but he froze. For a moment his hand simply floated there, and finally it made contact with her, as if he had to force himself to touch her. But as strange as the motion was, he didn't seem to notice his own hesitation, as if it was subconscious. "Then why do you flinch when I touch you? You should be the most confident girl on earth."

_If only you know that I'm not even a girl, more like a creature. And why does everybody notice when I flinch?_ As angry as the thought made her, she was unable to reply, her mouth glued shut with hesitation.

"I saw how you walk," he continued. "Hunched over like you're hiding from something." His voice had grown softer, so much so that Raven had to lean in just to hear him.

"I'm not as beautiful as you thi—" she began, but he seized her mouth suddenly in a kiss.

Andtheneverythingwasablur, his tongue toying with hers until she figured out how to maneuver it like he did, hands roaming over hands and smooth skin, not scaly because that would have been a nightmare, nobody wants rough skin much less scales, but he wanted what she had changed herself into. And she wanted him the way a parched desert longs for water after years of drought, after a lifetime of drought, knowing nothing but longing and an acknowledgment that it would always be that way.

Normally she would have demanded payment, or _something_, but after those words, after just what she wanted to hear and just what she wanted to feel, rightwhereshewantedtofeelit—things that had been held inside for years until a single touch had stoked the fire—her head spun and blood rushed far too quickly for her to choose. Vince took the opportunity and made the decision for her.

_He must have it easy with girls; I'm sure, with those looks. But I've got to be the easiest he's ever had, even if I looked the hardest to get. Why do I have to be so sensitive? All it takes is a compliment and I'm completely in his hands. Literally._

Suddenly Raven gasped and shifted back into her more attractive female form, realizing that she had awoken in her mutant one. _If he'd woken up before me…._

Images of the past night floated into her head as she rolled over, facing away from Vince. _I'll never be able to look at him without turning red._ Every moment she strained to keep her guise up, he had been amazed to find out she was a virgin, at one point Damien had walked in, at least their mother hadn't…though she had to know what was going on, with all the screams coming from the room. _She's got to be used to it. Now that I think about it, Vince reminds me far too much of Troy. I never would have slept with a guy like this in a million years if I couldn't shape shift._

Raven had welcomed even the painful parts; besides, no pleasurable thing was without its pain. _Better than nothing._

Now she at her clothes as they lay on the foot of the bed, long ago discarded. Knotting her brow in thought, trying to recall when she took them off, but couldn't. One minute she'd been wearing them; the next, they were across the bed.

One thought still bugged her, though. _When he first touched me…._

She shook her head and tried to keep it out of her mind, but it returned a few seconds later. _He hesitated to touch me at first. After that he couldn't get his hands off me, but at the very beginning…like he _knew_. Or like some part of him knew. Is that even possible? That's like when Damien was having me switch positions. He always paused right before he put his hands on me, but_ _I thought it was inexperience. _

Raven gritted her teeth and clutched the sheets tighter, thinking, _Mom always did that too, after I started getting sick. That made sense, because who wants to touch a sick person? But even after I was better, when my eyes were just a little bit yellow, she still could hardly touch me. Like I'm poisonous. The only person who has not done that_—_he didn't even see me like this, when I _am_ beautiful._

_He must have wanted something from me. That's it._

Though, what he could possibly need her for, she couldn't imagine.


	13. Too Perfect

**Chapter 13**

"Hey, you awake?"

Rolling over to face Vince, she smiled. "Sure am."

She scored another free meal—breakfast. There wasn't quite as much food as there had been at the mansion, but Raven was hardly about to complain. Damien had already left for school, but his mother was there. She kept staring at Raven, who glared back whenever their eyes met.

"How do you get your hair like that?" asked Vince's mother. Her voice shook slightly, as if just speaking to Raven unnerved her.

Face flushing slightly, Raven replied, "It's naturally curly."

His mother nodded, but didn't take her eyes off Raven.

"So," said Raven, to break the silence, "are you kicking me out after this?"

She was mostly joking, because of course there was no reason for Vince to continue offering her food and a place to sleep, in her mind. So when he shook his head and said, "No way," her eyes widened. "I got an apartment in Bronx and you're just what I wanna come home to after a long day of work."

With a half-smile, Raven said, "You giving charity to the homeless now?"

"Not usually, but I think it's time I made an exception."

"And why would you do that?"

He stood up from the table and brought his dishes to the sink. Glancing over his shoulder, he said, "The goodness of my heart."

"Where do you live?' she asked, following him and snaking an arm around his waist. There was that tiny second where he moved away ever so slightly, but then welcomed the embrace, running a hand through her blonde curls.

"The Bronx, I got a studio up there. People flock to me for services."

She kissed him lightly on the lips. "I can see why."

He responded with another, deeper kiss. Her head spun with pleasure, but she couldn't stop herself from thinking, _This is all because he doesn't know who I am. If I live with him, one mistake and it's all over._

As his tongue ran over her teeth, she closed her eyes and willed herself not to moan right in front of Vince's mother. But when he moved to her ear, she knew the battle was lost. "Not here," she whispered, and pushed him away as lightly as she could manage with everything so blurry.

He stumbled backwards into a chair. "What was that for?"

She could feel his mother's eyes boring a hole through her back, and she immediately tried to explain herself, so desperate that she stumbled over words. "I didn't - it was an accident, I'm sorry, sometimes I can't control how hard I - "

"Like hell you can't," Vince snapped. "You just caught me off guard, that's all. I understand. Won't happen again, I'm sure." His low tone made clear that she wanted to be very certain that it didn't.

As much as it angered her that she had lost control again, the last thing she wanted to do was let on to Vince that something was different about her, something harder to control. In addition, she had been in a human form for quite some time at this point. Although she'd had a few hours of her "normal" self during the night, after they'd collapsed on the bed in exhaustion, it wasn't much compared to an entire day of walking around as a human. She could feel her eyelids drooping and her muscles aching; it wasn't long before her control slipped completely and she was forced back into her mutant form.

"Look, I've got to bathe, I must smell horrible. I haven't had a decent shower in forever."

He nodded knowingly. "The streets, yeah. Course you'd want a shower. Feel free to use one of our bathrooms, and first I'll see if Mom's clothes fit you."

The older woman rolled her eyes, and Raven could tell she wasn't happy about lending clothes to someone who looked and played the part of a slut, but since she wouldn't be in the house much longer whether she accepted Vince's offer or not, she didn't care anymore. "Thanks. I'll try to make it quick."

As it turned out, his mother's clothes were slightly big on Raven's slender human form, but they would do the job. And even though Raven could control her appearance, she couldn't change her scent, which definitely was nothing anyone wanted to smell after only those few days without soap.

At the moment the warm shower water connected with her back, she allowed herself to slip back into her mutant form. She gasped with relief, kneeling in the shower stall and wrapping her arms around her trembling form. The days had taken their toll, as much as she hated to admit it. _This stupid sickness, defect, whatever it is! I'd be back at high school hanging out with Brianna if this hadn't happened. _

_How will I last if I go somewhere with Vince, where I won't be alone? I guess he won't be at home during the day, but I screw up…well, it's not like I'd miss _him _anyway. He's a way to eat and sleep._ At good as she had felt the previous night, she was perfectly aware of how fake it had been. _He loves what he sees and it stops there_. As she scrubbed her fiery red hair so hard that her scalp burned, she stared at her reflection and wondered what would happen if she waltzed outside in her mutant form.

In the end, she instead chose her usual human form.

Vince was waiting for her, sitting on the bed outside the bathroom that connected to his room. "You look great," he said, smiling. "Follow me to the car."

Mentally, she breathed a sigh of relief when he ordered her to follow—otherwise, she knew she would never remember how to navigate out of the mansion. Out of the corner of one eye, she saw his mom glaring at her again. _It'll be nice getting her off my back._

His big hand wrapped around her small wrist, he led her past framed portraits and through winding hallways into a garage that housed a Mercedes, a Jaguar, and a BMW. Holding up the keys, he unlocked the Jaguar and opened the door on the passenger's side for Raven. "Come on in," he said, and closed the door behind her.

The leather seats and carpet were lined with crumbs; Raven pitied the car for being so beautiful and yet dirty. Vince entered on the other side and gunned the engines without commenting on the crumpled-up Wendy's bags and coke cans. He didn't waste any time backing out of the driveway, pulling onto the road, and speeding off.

However, they were slowed considerably when his subdivision turned into the city streets. Vicious honking and many an angry curse was exchanged as Vince navigated New York. "How old are you, anyway?" he demanded suddenly, sounding genuinely concerned.

"_Nineteen_."

Glancing at her in alarm, Vince demanded, "What was that?"

Raven coughed and repeated herself. "Nineteen," she said, making sure to disguise her voice this time. Before, it had sounded like several people speaking at once.

"Good. I was pretty sure you couldn't be under eighteen, but, you can never be too careful."

She had been looking out the window, but turned suddenly, smelling something that made her cough again, but this time she wasn't hiding anything. Vince held a cigarette in one hand, holding the steering wheel with the other, and Raven watched smoke curl into the air and disappear.

"That smells terrible."

"Oh yeah, I guess you couldn't afford any of these out on the street. Don't worry, I've got plenty."

Raven shuddered. "If it tastes like it smells, I'd rather not."

With a shrug, Vince replied, "Sure, more for me anyway."

Eventually they reached an apartment complex somewhere in the Bronx; Raven wasn't familiar with much of New York yet, and now had no idea how far away she was from the mansion. _Are they wondering where I am, or are they just glad I left? I wonder if they told my mom I ran away._ Vince parked and led her inside, arm in arm, and as heads turned to look at the attractive couple, Raven felt like a valuable object—valuable, but still an object.

They rode up the elevator in silence, standing next to a middle-aged man who didn't take his eyes off Raven. She felt her cheeks flushing red with embarrassment and thought for a moment that perhaps she had overdone it on the looks, but at the same time, she smiled, knowing that he wanted something he couldn't have.

When they stepped out of the elevator, Vince was fuming. "Did you see the way he stared at you? Like you were some kind of object? That's disgusting! Like he couldn't see you were mine!"

"What a loser." _Yes, he couldn't see I was _your_ object. Don't pretend you see me as anything but that._

He unlocked the door and held out an arm, letting her enter first. "Welcome home."

Eyebrows raised, she inspected the room. There was only one bed—so Vince therefore only had one thing in mind—and one bathroom, a few kitchen appliances. It was more like a hotel room than the grand apartment she had envisioned for someone as rich as Vince, but then again, this small apartment had to be fairly expensive. "What now?" she asked.

"I'm going to work. I have an appointment in a few minutes with a model. Candace Kinsley?"

"You're her photographer?" Raven hadn't heard the name before, but she decided to play along anyway. "I think I've seen her on magazines in stores. She's great."

Vince grinned, delighted that Raven seemed to know who he was talking about. "Yeah, she's a beauty, but nothing like you. I'll see you later, then? Maybe we'll go out to dinner if my appointment goes well."

"Sounds great."

The moment Vince shut the door behind him, she collapsed on the bed and melted into her mutant form. Her chest rose and fell rapidly as she gasped for breath, shutting her eyes. Her head ached terribly, and she seized it with her hands, rolling on the bed as she tried to stop the pain. Nausea rose in her chest, and she sprang up from the bed to rush to the bathroom and stood over the toilet. She nearly banged into a counter on the way there; everything spun and changed before her eyes as if the world, instead of Raven, was the shapeshifer.

"Shit," she muttered, staring into the toilet.

Dizzily she waited to throw up, and a few seconds later, she did. That morning's wonderful breakfast spilled out as her stomach heaved and her throat burned in protest. When she was left completely empty, she remained there, gripping the counter for balance and coughing over the toilet.

After waiting a few minutes, she opened the cabinets and searched for Aspirin so frantically that she knocked several bottles out. As they clattered onto the floor, she wondered why Vince could possibly need all these pills, more than she had ever seen in one place. Eventually she found the aspirin, and with a sigh of relief she popped the cap and dumped three pills onto her blue hand. Then she downed them with water from the sink, fell on the bed again, and shut her yellow eyes.

A sharp rap on the door caused Raven to bolt into a sitting position. The lock clicked, and Vince walked in the room, carrying a few bags stuffed with clothes. "I got you a little something."

She rubbed her eyes. "Clothes? Good, I'm getting out of these as soon as possible." As she rifled through, she saw clothes nicer than any in her old closet, with names that she barely recognized.

While she was occupied, Vince entered the bathroom. When she heard the door shut, her head snapped up and she glanced at the door, remembering how she had knocked all those pills over. Wincing, she waited for the demand that soon came: "What _happened_ here?" Vince flung open the door and pointed to the bottles sprinkling the tile floor.

"I got sick and wanted an aspirin for my head. I wasn't thinking straight, and forgot to pick those up. If it's that big a deal, I'll get them."

He kneeled and began to gather them. "Don't bother. How do you feel now?"

Her head still pounded, only slightly dulled by the pills that had nothing for the pain, but sent her into a blessed dreamless sleep, something she hadn't seen in years. "Much better," she lied. "But I'm starving."

"Get the phonebook and call order takeout, unless you cook?" There was a tinge of hopefulness in his voice.

"There's nothing here I can work with, but if you get more I'll make something." It was difficult to speak without moaning at the pain, or letting any signs show. Had he been looking at her hands, he would have seen a small trail of blood from her lip where she bit into it.

"Damn, I knew you were an angel. Let's do something besides takeout, then, until we get something you can work with. I'll get a few of my buddies down at Rosetta's."

He took her out to eat at said restaurant, which Raven had never heard of. It was some expensive place with Italian food, crystal glasses, and a couple of Vince's "buddies." Gorgeous young women hung off each of their arms, and each of the girls had Prada or Gucci hanging off _their_ arms. While Vince hadn't bought any purses—not that Raven had anything to fill them with in the first place—her impossibly-smooth skin, full red lips, and long, tan legs easily beat the powdered sticks surrounding them.

"I'm not gonna lie, Vince, you made off like a thief. How the hell you pick up a girl like that?" asked one.

Vince laughed and replied, "Luck is all I can think of. Can you believe this came off the streets?"

"You serious?"

Just then the waiter came by to take everybody's orders. Raven ordered the richest, most elaborate pasta dish she could find on the menu while the other girls stared at her and proceeded to request only appetizers. Raven smiled to herself, more than a little smug that she could eat literally whatever she wanted

"So, tell me your names," she said to the rest of the girls. Vince had addressed most of the guys at this point, but the girls had stayed almost completely silent.

As they introduced themselves, Raven studied them carefully. Each one all fit some kind of stereotype, but none was perfect. Amber's blonde hair and blue eyes were overshadowed by large ears and a too-flat chest; Zelleigh's washed-out, acne-specked face diminished the splendor of her fiery red hair. Raven couldn't help but notice the crooked teeth every time she laid eyes on Nyoka's beautiful Asian features, and Janae's thick, elaborately-styled chocolate hair would have made her worthy of modeling if only she hadn't been the largest of the group. The mountain of jewelry dangling off of her was never going to hide her size.

_Why did I even bother with makeup when I was a kid? They're are doing everything they can, they have the best of everything, and they're all flawed. I had nothing. I never would have had a chance without this mutation_.

When the food arrived, the other girls only bumped their food with a stainless steel fork every now and again. For the most part, Raven let the mindless chatter of the boys float around her as she ate, so quickly that she finished even before a few of the guys.

"You're lucky," Zelleigh said wistfully, gazing at Raven's empty plate with hungry eyes. "You can't be a hundred pounds. I can't get below, like, 120 if I eat anything. What are you, size zero?"

Raven snorted, as rudely as possible. "On the street, I would have died for a meal like this."

"And who wants to be zero, anyway?" added Amber, the blonde with skinnier legs than Raven. "You do realize it's negative two that people want now, right, Zelleigh?"

"W-well yeah, I know." The glance she shot in Nyoka's direction could only be described as a deer in headlights.

The other girls clearly didn't want to let on that they were jealous of Raven; they guarded themselves with folded arms, glares, and text messages so that they wouldn't have to speak with her. _I can't win. Any imperfection, I'd still be on the streets. Perfect, and people find a way to hate that too._


	14. Scherzo

**Chapter 14**

The next weeks passed in blessed monotony to Raven, who continued to live off Vince and whispered thanks to nobody in particular every time she ate a meal. In the early morning hours, Vince woke her for breakfast, but after he left for work she could sleep for the remainder of the day. She couldn't imagine what she would do otherwise—tiredness always pulled at her, and the tossing and turning she had known before had given way to an almost automatic sleep every time her head hit the pillow.

Most of that exhaustion came from her constant use of her powers during the day, and nightmares still came to her every time she closed her yellow eyes, but all in all it wasn't a bad existence, where sleep filled her mornings and she started cooking dinner in the afternoon so that it could be as perfect as possible when Vince returned. When he did, they would eat, sometimes hang out with his friends and their girlfriends again or sit in a theater where she would feign interest in some dull movie, and her daily life revolved around sleeping, socializing, and sex. Parties still bored her; the other girls weren't any more eager to talk to her than they had been on the first night, but Raven preferred to eat and be ignored than hunt for something to eat on the street. As she cooked, as she ate, as she lay in bed awake and tried to sleep, one thought ran through her mind: _These days are numbered_.

Naturally, she wanted to stretch these days out as much as possible. Since Vince worked all day, it wasn't too hard. Until—

"I got a day off, baby. We get a three-day weekend. How's that for a present?"

She threw her arms around him and forced out the words, "That's great! How will we celebrate?"

"I hear the new thing is this guy, Michael Petrov, who sings at the Met. Supposed to be the best musician alive or dead. I'm not much of a cultured guy, but Jake and Amber are going, so of course we're all pretty much stuck with it."

_Me, seeing a show at the Met. Now that's something I never imagined. _"Sure." _This is going to be a long weekend._

Laying her head down onthe pillow, she ran through scenarios of her mutant form surfacing—inthe met, in a taxi, during sex. _Now _that_ would be fun. Maybe Vince would have a heart attack._

For such a special occasion, Vince took Raven out shopping; apparently he had determined to impress the entire theater with her. There were stores and brand-names she didn't recognize but had price tags higher than the one on her old computer. He pulled her into jewelry stores and kept swiping a plastic card, insisting that the prices paled in comparison to the reward of seeing her look so nice. For the first time in her life, she found herself unable to stop smiling, even at strangers, if only at how ridiculous it was, that she would ever flaunt such clothes or jewelry.

On the night of the performance, they dined out at the fanciest restaurant around, courtesy of Vince's friends. As he had predicted, the usual crowd was all there. The girls couldn't sit still, chatting louder than usual while clicking away at phones. A few older, tuxedo-clad men sitting nearby lifted gray eyebrows disapprovingly, but for once, the girls didn't seem to care what the others around them thought, actually including Raven a few times.

Attempts didn't get far, though. "What'd ya think of the Grammies? Guess what, I picked the winners again! I must be, like, psychic or something, you know?"

"Not really. I didn't watch."

The other girls shared a glance. "Oh." An awkward silence hung in the air until Janae finally said, "So, look at this text from Jon. Apparently he thinks Lauren Kyle should have won best artist. Like anyone even listens to her…."

Even then, Amber pressed Raven until they found some sort of common ground that didn't take too long to find—clothes. That weekend had been Raven's crash-course in brand names, and she remembered enough to carry on a decent conversation. _When I actually have something to say to them, they're not too bad. At least, Amber isn't_.

But the hours of mutating took their toll on her. Beads of sweat had already begun to gather on Raven's forehead. Her sweaty palms struggled to hold the utensils steady, and the rich pasta tasted dry and sticky in her mouth. When Vince casually touched her arm, she jumped. "You alright, baby?"

She could only nod, and hardly said a word until they reached the Met. A long car ride mixed with nerves had made her stomach turn, but the moment they stepped into the Metropolitan Opera House, her jaw dropped and all her emotions turned to amazement.

Vince chuckled. "Surprised?"

She laughed in reply, and the sound surprised her with its many tones, as if a choir had laughed in unison. Inwardly she swore, but forced a smile as Vince glanced at her, forehead creased in puzzlement. "What did you say?"

"Nothing."

He shrugged and grabbed her arm to lead her through the building. Rows of sweats towered above them as they began to climb up the stairs, and the only thing Raven could compare to the enormous structure was a sports stadium. As she observed the crowd, only a few others were around her age, and she felt a swell of pride to simply be present at such an important event.

When the singer was announced, the audience cheered and clapped in a thunderous roar, some people even stomping their feet. Someone stuck two fingers in their mouth and whistled, right in Raven's ear, but she hardly noticed. However, she didn't join the crowd in standing, so she couldn't see this new celebrity until the rest of the watchers sat.

"Here," whispered Vince, and handed her a beer. "This won't be that exciting—you'll need it."

She raised the bottle to her lips and took a long drink, but suddenly caught something out of the corner of her eye. At that moment, she froze, lowering the bottle in shock.

None other than Scherzo stood triumphantly on that coveted stage, a grin on his face, clad in a dark tuxedo and armed with a microphone. _How did he get here—when did he leave—what the hell is he doing here?? _Familiar feathery hair encased his skinny frame, and when he bowed, it swept against the pristine floor of the stage. Straightening himself, he held the microphone to his lips, opened his mouth, and began the concert.

"_Qui dove il mare luccica, e tira forte vento…."_

A piano accompanied him, but Scherzo's voice drowned out the keys, echoing in Raven's ears even when the phrases ended. Sweeping crescendos and gentle decrescendos floated past the audience, and a sudden jump in volume startled her, yet the unexpected noise did not distract her in the least. If anything, it only drew the audience in more, and they seemed to lean forward all at once to hear the next quiet phrase.

"_Te vojo bene assai, ma tanto tanto bene sai…."_

A shiver shook Raven's spine. _This is unnatural…these are his powers, and they are working on even me._ Her mind ordered her to point, to yell out Scherzo's real name and expose him, but her body stiffened when she tried. His crooning pushed against her like tangible hands.

"Damn," Vince whispered, but Raven could only nod and stare.

Suddenly Scherzo's eyes connected with hers, and flashed violet for just a fraction of a second. Without taking his eyes off of her, he continued to sing, weaving one phrase into the next as if it were all sung in one breath, but a smile broke the serious expression on his face. Again, Raven rubbed her arms, praying she was just cold, but the sensation only grew.

"_Vide le luci in mezzo al mare…."_

"Baby, what's wrong?"

By now she had broken out in a cold sweat that gathered in beads on her forehead. The tremors worsened so that Vince couldn't even force her hand still. And then she heard the worst possible sound, a yelp from Vince as he jumped up, nearly backing into a screaming Amber who stared at Raven with wide, watery eyes.

Frozen, Raven watched her hand as scales surfaced and the tan became blue with agonizing slowness. Clutching her stomach, she squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head back and forth, as if that would stop the change, but Scherzo's voice rang in her ears with a deafening cry that scattered her thoughts. Then her eyelids popped up as if he were pulling them, and her yellowing eyes were fixed on him, his face twisted into a smirk. _Goodbye_, he mouthed.

Then he thrust a finger in her direction. "The horror!" he cried, and pressed the hand to his forehead in a wild display of melodrama. "We have a mutant among us!"

The crowd's heads collectively turned towards Raven. Many of them screamed and bolted for the nearest exit, but others ran at her, holding her down.

"Get off—" A hand covered her mouth, and she bit down as hard as she could. When they jerked back, she shouted, "_Get off me!_"

With a glance, she scanned the group for Vince, but could not see him. Amber was still nearby, gnawing manicured nails as if unsure whether she should join the fight or flee.

In that moment, a feeling resurfaced that Raven had not experienced since the incident at her old school, the knowledge that even the adults who were supposed to break up the fights had betrayed her. Had her mutant self slipped in while she was alone with Vince, that would have been one thing, but _this_ was far worse. _I'm fifteen!_ she wanted to shout. _What the hell can I do against ten thousand of you? _ None of them were fighters, and she easily kicked away some, and punched others hard enough to break bones, the cracks causing her to grin in guilty pleasure. But each man or woman who backed off was absorbed into the crowd and replaced by another, angrier adult bent on—_what are they even trying to do?_

An elbow slammed into her head, and she collapsed on the carpet in a heap of blood-tinted blue scales. Even after she had fallen, a few still kicked her slightly, just enough to ensure that she really wasn't going to stand again anytime soon.

"Thank Heavens you got her, Henry," said one woman, wringing her white-gloved hands. "What do you suppose she was doing here?"

"Planning to kill us all, I'm sure," he growled. "What else would a _mutant_ be doing at the Met, after all? It's not like they have any business here. I want my money back!"

"Yeah! They should do better background checks before letting just anyone buy tickets here. What if there are more mutants here?"

The room, which had erupted in frantic conversation, hushed all of a sudden as the ominous words bounced off the walls. People inspected those next to them with narrowed eyes, instantly distrustful of everyone.

Finally, Amber broke the silence. "What should we do with the mutant? We can't just leave her here. A-after all, she'll wake up sometime."

"I'll bring her outside. We'll leave her there. She should be thankful we didn't kill her."

"Yeah, look what she did to my hand!" The man who had spoken approached the blue body and spat on it, then wiped his mouth and stormed off.

A few others looked at each other, shrugged, and repeated the act. One woman kicked Raven another time, just for good measure, and told her young son to do the same. "What did she do?" he asked, revealing several missing teeth when he spoke.

"She came where we humans are!" the woman exclaimed, and turned to a friend. "In this day and age, we gotta teach our own kids of the dangers of mutants. What is the world coming to?"

Eventually Raven was carried outside and tossed in a ditch, where she spent the night in dreamless sleep.


	15. Cadenza

**Chapter 15**

Her head felt weighted as it hung between her knees; she couldn't open her eyes because of the sunlight that threatened to pierce them and the fact that her eyelids were refusing to cooperate. Raven's only protection against the clawing wind was a half folded newspaper that was barely clinging to her body and a cardboard box that she used as a windbreaker next to her; otherwise her exposed arms and face were covered in goose-bumps. No more energy remained to create coverings, as if the life had been sucked out of her. The pavement on which she sat on was speckled with little stones that pressed in to her legs like broken bones, not yet disintegrated; it was only by focusing on these little bumps that she could ignore the wind that was running its fingers through her clothes hungrily and disrespectfully.

New York City didn't waste its time on her and neither did its occupants; most of the women stomped around her with their one-hundred dollar high heels and Gucci purses swinging before the hungry yellow eyes Raven was too exhausted to hide. The women acted as if only her breath could befoul the clothes that protected them.

_How did I get here?_

She could have transformed and tried again, with another Vince, another Damien. The thought tempted her from time to time, so much that she would shift small things like her skin just to look at least a little more normal. But to fully transform and hide herself for days at a time took energy she couldn't muster, instead slipping back whenever she began to work on those damning yellow eyes.

On the side of the road she saw an apple, tossed there as if someone could possibly _not want_ _an apple_, and she snatched it up before the others could see. As much as she wanted to save it until the last minute, that time was quickly approaching. Her wiry blue fingers kept reaching for it, caressing it like Vince's face.

_If only Scherzo hadn't screwed it up. One more day in that house would have meant one less out here!_

There was plenty of company to be found on her corner. As she glanced over to make sure no one was watching, she shivered, seeing the man she only knew as the one who had no left arm, holding an illegible sign in his right hand and crying. Without realizing it, she rubbed her left arm protectively, and then quickly bit out of the apple when she was sure he would not see. To eat next to a man who had less than she did already made her blood boil at her own cruelty, but at the same time, her watering mouth refused to let her share.

After allowing herself a few bites, huddled over just in case one of the others did happen to look, she tucked it in the pocket of her sweatshirt—actually, it was Vince's, but she had been wearing it when he'd kicked her out, and it still smelled far too much like his shampoo. _Stupid scents makes this even worse_.

To distract herself, she looked back at the armless man, and he noticed that she was staring at her. In a voice rougher than gravel, he asked, "You got any spare change?"

Raven glanced over herself. _Do I look any more rich than usual? Don't think so_. "Look at me."

In reply, he stared at her silently with bloodshot eyes.

"Do I look like I have any money?"

"I-I don't know."

Too tired to have much more pity for the man, she snapped, "I'm a mutant and I live on the streets. Give it your best shot."

"Asshole."

Some responses flashed through her mind and a few choice insults begged to be said, but she vaguely remembered saying the same thing to him an hour ago, only to be met with silence. _What the hell, I'll keep the trend going. But I need another corner if I'm gonna finish this_. She stood up and began to walk away, hearing him yell after her, "You'll fuckin' end up like me one day! I can see it coming. One day you'll be here and I won't and you won't get a damn cent!"

_I don't care how rich you get; I've got an apple_. As she passed businessmen in suits, teenagers with carefully-manicured nails, Raven repeated it to herself under her breath until she nearly skipped along the streets. _I've got the fucking apple!_

When she was far enough away that all traces of his voice had died away, she leaned against a wall, slid down to the ground, and bit in again. Juice squirted on the sides of her mouth as she chewed viciously, shifting her teeth to be slightly sharper so they could dig in as quickly as possible. After she finished, all she could think of, _Now you don't have a fucking apple or anything else. What happens now?_

Just then a paper blew past her face, one with a face on it she recognized from somewhere. She reached out, grabbed the pamphlet, and turned it over to see a familiar face on the cover.

_Thursday Night: Michail Petrov's Last Performance in New York City! _

The picture, which struck her as more disgusting than the most gruesome horror movie, caused her stomach to turn as she fully absorbed it. The same small frame with multicolored, feathery hair stood triumphantly in a suit fancier than those of the businessmen she passed; in his left hand he held a microphone, a smile lighting up his beady eyes and chubby face. _He's gained weight. Probably all the junk he eats now. How the fuck did _this_ happen? _Under her breath, she muttered, "_I'm_ supposed to be the mutant carving a living out here, not watching _Scherzo_ get fat and rich! The hell with Scherzo!" _When I get my hands on him, we'll see who's on top_.

She stalked off to the Metropolitan Opera House and let a bright green hue wash over her blue skin. As she neared the House, she ducked into an alley, morphed into a security guard, and entered the Met with no problem at all. From the lobby, she could hear a strong male voice bellowing out song, no doubt "Michail Petrov."

When she reached the performance hall, her blood boiled as she saw Scherzo on stage, obviously rehearsing. A few other guards lounged around, leaning on chairs with half-closed eyes, the perfect opportunity for Raven to grab the gun of one man and shoot him with it. As the other had just begun to draw his own, she shot him too, and slipped back into her mutant form as the men working the sound system fled the room.

Scherzo had already turned to flee, but she was the faster, weighing far less now that he had been eating so well, living the life of comfort and slowly losing his fighting edge. Before he could run too far, she hopped on stage and seized his throat. "I'll rip your vocal chords out, you bastard," she muttered. "See if you can sing then."

His eyes were wide as he gasped for breath, clawing at her hands with his thick fingers. "_Why_?" he choked out, the word so garbled that it sounded more like a growl.

Suddenly her hand loosened gradually, though she strained her muscles to clench it. The veins in her arms looked as though they were about to pop as the soothing sound of piano keys clamored in her ears. Scherzo's hand twisted behind his back, running up and down a grand piano. Her hand slipped away completely and an invisible force shoved her to her knees; the second she let go of him, he spun around and slammed out on the keys a vicious melody that bounced off the walls and surrounded her like arms, strengthening its grip until it was she who struggled for breath.

Unlike the cadenzas so tenderly phrased only a few weeks past, his fingers crawled over the keys in a twisted dance like spiders. But instead of weaving a gentle web, they gnawed at her, dug spindly legs into her. The melody distorted further with every moment, piercing her ears. With all the strength in her body, she pushed at the music, tried to thrust it back until her knuckles were white and her veins stuck out. In an effort to distract Scherzo, she inhaled deeply and began to scream so loudly that her own vocal chords nearly begged her to stop. His fingers dashed faster up and down the piano, begging her to shut up.

But he was so shaken by her sudden arrival and attack that his fingers shook desperately, uncontrollably. Now they ran over one another, unable to continue at breakneck speed as she continued trying to scream so loudly that he could not hear his own playing.

As the notes tripped over one another, their hold on Raven weakened. She reached out, grabbed his ankle, and yanked him to the ground. His physical frailty made it easy for her to pin him down, wrap her hands around his neck, and squeeze until his scrawny legs stopped kicking and his tiny fists stopped pounding.

The room spun before her eyes and she leaned her back against a dented piano leg. Scherzo's hair spread wildly on the floor in a heap and for a long moment she only stood and watched his delicate frame, a crumpled sack of bones. _What to do with him now?_

She wiped her forehead with a scaled hand and felt wet hair pressed to her face. Some of the moisture was from sweat, some was from blood, which she only succeeded in wiping on her hand_. There's no time to find a place where he won't be found. What the hell, I'll dump him here._ Propping open the roof of the grand piano with the legs on its side, she lifted him up and dumped him inside. There was a slight clang, and she closed the top. While she doubted a normal human would have fit there, Scherzo's tiny body was easily hidden.

_Too bad I can't be here when some terrified human finds this body_.


End file.
